Fred Couples` season could end after Sunday`s final round of the Western Open.
It`s not that he`s playing poorly–he`s tied with Bobby Wadkins for the second-round lead at the 83d Western Open–it`s just that he`s Fred Couples.
”If I win on Sunday, I`ll quit for the rest of the year,” said Couples, a likable but puzzling 26-year-old from Seattle who later amended his post-victory schedule to include next week`s PGA Championship.
Couples shot a 4-under-par 68 at Butler National Golf Club Friday to tie morning leader Wadkins, who shot his second straight 69. They are at 6-under 138 and a shot ahead of Barrington`s Gary Hallberg and Tom Purtzer going into Saturday`s third round, which will be shown on WBBM-TV (Channel 2) at 3:30 p.m. The coverage of Sunday`s final round begins at 3 p.m.
Hallberg shot a 71, and Purtzer, who was 8 under at one time but finished double bogey-bogey, carded a 70. Former champion Scott Simpson, (71) David Frost (66) and Tom Byrum (70) are another shot behind at 140. George Burns
(70) is at 141, and Waukegan`s David Ogrin shot his second straight 71 and is in a group of five players at 142.
Defending champion Scott Verplank missed the cut of 4-over 148. Verplank, who took 30 putts and hit nine greens, shot a 78 to finish at 152. Jim Thorpe, who finished second to Verplank last year in a playoff, also missed the cut, with a 151. Others who missed the cut include Bob Tway (150), Andy Bean (150) and Andy North (149). British Open champion Greg Norman came in at 1-over 145, as did Ben Crenshaw, Tom Kite and Calvin Peete. Former champion Hale Irwin played the first half of the tournament in even par.
Couples has never had much trouble winning money on the PGA Tour since he earned his card in the fall of 1980. He was the leading rookie in 1981 with $78,939 and worked his way up to the No. 7 spot on the money list in 1984 with $334,573. He won the 1983 Kemper Open and the 1984 TPC, but many have thought he should have won more.
Last year, he took six weeks off before the PGA Championship, tied for sixth and then took two weeks off. This year, he has won $54,629, with his best finish being a tie for 14th at the Los Angeles Open early in the season. No one has ever questioned his ability, but he admits his desire is a problem. ”I haven`t been working that hard at it,” admitted Couples, who says he isn`t enjoying golf now and doesn`t like the traveling involved in the pro tour. ”A lot of times I go out there and play poorly after four or five holes and just kind of walk around and try to get the round over with. Not this week, but at the British Open, I made up my mind to try just as hard as I could on every shot, which I have a tendency not to do. It definitely helps.
”My wife doesn`t like watching play me when I slap around putts and step up and hit it. She noticed it with about 50 other people and just mentioned it. I hadn`t been playing well and I spent a lot of money playing the British Open and I figured I`d better make some.”
Maybe the British Open, where he finished tied for 15th, 18 shots behind Norman, marked the emergence of a new Couples.
Thursday, he started off with a pair of bogeys and finished with a 70. Friday, he bogeyed the first hole after his drive landed in a bunker but wound up with five birdies. The first came when he made an 18-foot putt on No. 3.
”I`ve made so many bogeys, it`s like I almost get used to looking at them,” he said. ”I know that sounds funny, but you just go to the next tee. I tried to birdie two and ended up with a birdie on three. Really, the putt on three did help. On a course like this, you can bogey any hole.”
One of the tour`s big hitters, Couples used his driver on just four holes. His driver set up his birdie on the 478-yard, par-5 12th hole, where he hit the green with a 5-iron on his second shot and two-putted. Couples used a 1-iron off the tee to set up birdies on Nos. 3, 9 and 10 and a 3-wood on No. 6, all par 4s.
Wadkins is off to a good start this season, with $171,078 and a tie for fifth in last week`s Buick Open. Wadkins, who turned 35 last Saturday, didn`t expect his score to hold up when he finished his round. But Butler was able to withstand another day of good playing conditions.
”I`m pleased with 69,” he said. ”Anytime you shoot in the 60s on this course, you`ve had a pretty good day.”
Hallberg fared much better than Loren Roberts and Bob Gilder, with whom he had shared the first-round lead. Gilder shot a 75 and is at 143, and Roberts shot a 76 and is at 144.
A conservative strategy helped Hallberg to a first-round 68. He didn`t deviate from his plan until he came to his last two holes Friday. He changed gears a little and birdied the par-3 8th and the par-4 9th.
”All day I was just trying to make good swings, play safe, conservative holes,” Hallberg said. ”Try to play very conservatively. On No. 8, I played a little more aggressively and hit a 5-iron where I would normally hit a 6-iron and try to hit the middle of the green and make a 30-foot putt for birdie. I took a chance and made a birdie. On No. 9, I took a 6-iron where I would normally hit a 7-iron and made birdie.
”I`m swinging good enough to play aggressively. Maybe on the weekend I`ll change my strategy, play some conservatively, some aggressive. I pretty much played safe to put myself in position.”
Hallberg will play with Couples and Wadkins in the last group, teeing off at 12:20 p.m. Couples is looking forward to it.
”I`m tied for the lead and it should be fun,” Couples said. ”I can`t say that much about it because the only other place I`ve played under pressure is Las Vegas, and I did all right there (tied for 16th).”
