Golf might not be a sport that everyone follows, but we can’t deny that golf has many major stars that are well known to people.
In today’s text we are going to talk about such a celebrity, called Fred Couples.
We are going to talk about his net worth, biography, career path and many other information that you would like to know about this famous golfer.
Early Years
Frederick Steven Couples was born on October 3rd 1959 in Seattle in Washington. Fred was born to his parents Violet and Tom. His family from his father’s side came from Italy and they decided to change their family name from Coppola.
His grandfather just wanted their last name to sound a bit less ethnic so they can fit in better with the locals.
His grandmother was Croatian, so he comes from a very versatile background. Fred’s father worked as a keeper for the Parks Department. The family lived in a very modest family home in the Beacon Hill.
The city is located near the Jefferson Park which is a golf course. It was then that Fred actually fell in love with golf and was constantly watching other people play in on the golf course.
It was also there that Fred learned his signature swing. This allowed him to gain distance so he can play with the other kids who trained with him.
Fred often spoke about his childhood and he said that he learned to play golf himself and no one actually paid attention to him, or trained him to learn to play golf.
Fred went to the O’Dea High School that is located in Seattle. He finished high school in 1977 and got a scholarship for the University of Houston.
On the University, he played for the Houston Cougars, which was a man’s golf club. There, he spent a lot of time with Blaine McCallister, who later became PGA Tour Player and a broadcaster for CBS.
One of Fred’s biggest successes as an amateur, was his victory over Don Bies in 1978 Washington Open. Don Bies was a PGA Tour Veteran, and this win definitely brought Fred Couples into the golf scene in bright light.
Career Path
After winning a golf scholarship at the University of Houston, and playing for the Houston Cougars, Fred definitely started his career at an early age.
He made his first big victory at only 19 years old, against a Veteran Don Bies. This victory made Fred come into the spotlight, and gave him an opportunity to get noticed by the golfing world.
His first PGA victory was in 1983 at the Kemper Open in Washington. He played against Chen Tze-chung and Scott Simpson. The three of them ended up the game after 1 hour. The three of them finished with a tie, but Fred managed to score a birdie and win the title in the Championship.
After the Kemper open, Fred won total of PGA Tour titles in his career. He was named the PGA Player of the Year two times in 1992 and in 1991. The Vardon Trophy became his as well and was named US Ryder Cup a total of 5 times from 1989 to 1995.
1992 was a big year for Fred Couples, became the first US player to become number one player in the Official World Golf Rankings. He was on the number one for a total of 16 years. He had an amazing start of the season and by many, this season was considered one of the best at the PGA tournaments.
The season started with Nissan LA Open, where he played against Davis Love III. He won two tournaments and was second five weeks to The Masters. Fred had a total of top 10 places in the Open Championship. Besides being in the USA Championships, Fred played in many international championships.
After the amazing season in 1992, Fred suffered from back injuries in 1994 that affected his career greatly. The back injury happened after he turned during his game, and his back was hurt pretty badly. In 2003, Fred managed to finish on number 34 at the PGA Tour money list. He also managed to win the Shell Houston Open. This was his first victory after 5 years.
In 2006 he was challenged by Augusta, but in the end, he was beaten by Phil Mickelson. If Fred managed to win this tournament, he would have been the player that is the oldest to win the Championship. 2005 Fred made a crucial putt in the Presidents Cup which gave him a victory against the International team’s best player. This player was Vijay Singh.
2007 wasn’t too good of a year for Couples, because he had many health problems. This prevented him from achieving significant success and play in the tournaments. He only managed to reach number 23 on in the 2007 Masters, which led him to miss the 2008 and 2009 Cup.
2009, Fred played at the Northern Trust Open and he was beaten by Phil Mickelson. He was also named to be the Presidents Cup captain of the US. In 2012, Fred and Jason Dufner became 36-hole co leader. Another interesting thing about Fred is that he always plays without his gloves.
Fred made a debut on the Champions Tour in Hawaii. The victory slide by him by an inch, and he ended up second after Tom Watson. Even though he lost the tournament, he stated that he really enjoyed playing and didn’t regret losing.
In the Senior PGA Championship, he ended up second as well and also second in the US Senior Open. In 2010, Fred won the Administaff Small Business Classic, which was his 4th win in career. In 2011, he was forced to sideline because of his health problems, mostly with his back.
In 2012, he managed to win second senior championship at the Senior Open Championship in Turnberry. Besides being into golf as a player, Fred also helped Gene D. Bates to design golf courses. He started these projects in 1002 and ended up by creating Couples Bates Golf Design firm. The company won over 20 awards for golf courses worldwide.
Fred has many endorsements as well, and he is a promoter of the supplement Antabloc which is an anti-inflammatory nutraceutical. Couples was also a part of many video games such as Game Gear, Fred Couples Golf and several others.
Fred Couples is without a doubt one of the greatest golf players of all times. His estimated net worth is around 120 million dollars, which is an amazing amount of money. Most of it comes from his tournaments and since he is still active player, this net worth might even increase in the future.
Personal life
Fred comes from an Italian Croatian family. From an early age, he knew what it meant to struggle and to wish for many things but not being able to get them. His family lived very modestly and he knew he had to work hard for everything he wanted to have.
He lived next to the golf course, which allowed him to watch other people playing golf, and he definitely got several tricks from them as well. Fred often said that he taught himself everything he knew, and that he is completely self-taught. This gave him the opportunity to shape himself as a unique golf player.
Fred went to the University of Houston and played for the local University team. It was there that he shaped himself as a golf player. The first several years of his competitions on the University he managed to beat the successful PGA veteran Dan Bies.
Couples won fifteen times on the PGA Tour. when connexion the Champions Tour (for ages fifty and over), wherever he still plays, his win total is thirteen.
His biggest win is additionally Couples’ solely triumph during a major championship: the 1992 Masters Tournament. Couples has conjointly won 2 senior majors, the 2011 Senior Players Championship and therefore the 2012 Senior Open Championship.
This gave him confidence to push even harder and to start competing at even bigger tournaments. Fred Couples was married to his college crush Deborah until 1992. The two of them met at the University of Houston in the 1979 and stayed together until 1992.
The divorce was final in 1993. Sadly, his ex-wife committed suicide in 2003, by jumping of a building.
His second wife, Thais Baker died in 2009 after a lost fight against breast cancer.
Fred currently lives in Newport Beach in California. He calls himself the Sports Junkie and is a member of the Seattle Seahawks.
He was the one to raise the 12th man flag on Monday Night Football game in 2013. His good friend is Michael Jordan and he even named him as his coach in the Presidents Cup in 2011.
Couples became a part of the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame in 2007 and the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2013. Fred had many issues with his back, and this health problem followed him for the entire time of his career.
He often missed tournaments and championships because of this problem and was faced to sit back and watch others play.
Nevertheless, he still managed to become one of the greatest golf players of all time and achieve success of which many others can only dream of. Fred couples is a living legend, and since he is not ye retired, we might even see him play in the future.
Quick summary
Full name: Frederick Steven Couples
Date of birth: October 3rd 1959
Birthplace: Seattle, Washington
Age: 60
Profession: Former golf player
Height: 1.80 m
Weight: 90 kg
Net Worth: 120$ million