Fred Couples is once again teeing it up at the Masters, and as he has done in recent years, the 1992 champion is once again playing Augusta National with his famous yellow ball.
The yellow ball has become as recognizable as Couples’ famous smooth golf swing, having adopted the bright bit of equipment during the latter years of his career. Many golf fans have asked the question as to why the 65-year-old goes yellow over the traditional white.
Tiger Woods poked fun at Fred Couples (Image: Getty Images)
The man with the answer is Tiger Woods, who revealed back in 2023 that his fellow Masters champion made the ball change to make it easier to see through the air.
“We give [Fred] grief all the time about using the yellow ball,” Woods told the Another Golf Podcast “But he absolutely loves it because he can’t see anymore.” Whilst Woods is absent at Augusta this week through injury, Couples is out playing in the 40th major of his career.
At 65, Couples is the second-oldest man in the field behind Bernhard Langer, who is playing his final event at the Masters having won the event twice. Speaking earlier this week, though, Couples revealed he has had the go-ahead to keep competing, with the American clearly still confident with his game.
“I always thought there was some kind of an age requirement and there really isn’t, but now there’s more of a, you know, how do you play requirement,” he said this week. “So I feel good about my game, and I’m — like I said, I was at a Bridgestone outing, and on the way back, we called Steve at Augusta, and he gave me the news, and the six-hour flight home kind of went fast.
“So I can play this year and next year for sure, but I don’t want to come here as a some clown just trying to play golf. I got one more day to keep swinging hard, and I love the course, as we all know, and I think the course is playing very good.
“The greens are a little — we all agreed the greens were a little slower than normal. Hate saying that, but I’m sure they’re going to speed ’em up. But they’re firm. After all the rain, they know how to get rid of water.” Playing in the opening round on Thursday, Couples rolled back the years.
He kicked off his tournament in style, as the veteran chipped in for birdie with his yellow ball at his very first hole. Things got even better for Couples on the second nine though, holing out for an incredible eagle from just under 200 yards, having hit a hybrid from the middle of the fairway.
