They do cherish their golden oldies at the Masters. Like a nice pair
of baffies warmed at the three-bar fire, Augusta National has always been
a cosy, welcoming haven for some
of golf’s celebrated, decorated elder statesmen.
This veneration of the venerable has often prompted some withering observations, mind you.
“There sure are a lot of old farts that play here,” said Fuzzy Zoeller many moons ago, long before the 1979 Masters champion became one of those old farts himself.
In this game for all the ages, of course, the advancing years have never been a barrier to success. You can go head-to-head with old man par while still parrying and jousting with auld faither time. Here in 2023, it’s the great Fred Couples who remains the oldest swinger in Augusta town.
The Masters may have said a fond farewell to a couple of hardy perennials this week – and we’re talking about the retiring Sandy Lyle and Larry Mize here not the pine trees that were dramatically blown over the other night – but Couples’ sturdy longevity was underlined as he became the oldest player in history to make the halfway cut at a sprightly 63. He beat the previous record set by Bernhard Langer by four months.
Younger pups like Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas may have trudged down Magnolia Lane and out of the gates with a whimper after missing the qualifying mark, but Couples proved there’s plenty of life in this particular old dog. Putting the finishing touches to a 74 yesterday morning was enough to comfortably tee-up two more rounds at one-over.
In his 40th Masters outing, the 1992 champion was relishing that prospect, if not the cold and wet conditions that had made Augusta as dour and dank as Sawney Bean’s cave.
“I’m an old wimp, but I’m excited to play,” said Couples with a smile. Or was it a grimace? No, it was definitely a smile. In those 40 Masters appearances, Couples has made the cut 31 times. He may have a bit to go to catch Jack Nicklaus’ record of 37 cuts but the drive and competitive zeal remains undiminished. Regardless of what the closing 36-holes produce, Couples has already found fulfilment in this home from home. “I can’t compete with Viktor Hovland or Jon Rahm or anybody, but I can compete with myself, and that’s really why I come,” said Couples of the personal targets that sustain his lust for golfing life. “That’s what I like to do, to make the cut here at an older age.
“But it’s not like ‘Ha, ha, ha, now I can screw around and play 36-holes for fun’. I’m going to try to compete.”
The plummeting temperatures and gloomy precipitation would have led to Tiger Woods’ ailing frame creaking like the floorboards of an old Georgian mansion but the five-time Masters champion was still delighted to extend his run of consecutive cuts made in the event to 23.
That run tied the record set by Couples and Gary Player. A ruinous finish by the aforementioned Thomas – he covered his last four holes in three-over in a 78 – led to the cut mark creeping up and Woods squeezed in on the three-over limit. Trees may have been felled at Augusta but one of the idols of the Masters managed to stand firm.
Not for long, though. The awful conditions did him no favours. You could just about hear the various nuts, bolts and rivets that hold his body together loosening.
Back-to-back double bogeys towards the end of the front nine
of his third round had him propping up the standings at nine-over. The hooter to signal an abandonment of play for the day must have been a welcome sound. Run that hot tub, please.
The misery was unrelenting. The bigwigs at Augusta National can do many things with the almighty resources at their disposal but they can’t do anything about the weather.
Forget green jackets, they were just about dishing out life jackets as the rain hammered down and the course became overwhelmed by the sheer volume of water swilling around. The forecast for today was slightly better but it will still make for a heck of a long Easter Sunday if they are going to get this opening major of the year done and dusted on schedule.
Brooks Koepka, one-under through six-holes of his third round, was sitting at 13-under and was four clear of Jon Rahm, who was one-over for the day when the klaxon sounded.
Sam Bennett, the US Amateur champion, was still hanging on to third at six-under despite being two-over through six holes while Patrick Cantlay and US Open champion, Matt Fitzpatrick, were making a move having played 13 and 11 holes respectively in three-under to move onto a five-under total.
The 87th Masters has a long
way to go yet.
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