Fred Couples Bio
Frederick Steven Couples (born October 3, 1959) is an American professional golfer who has competed on the PGA Tour and the PGA Tour Champions. A former World No. 1, he has won 64 professional tournaments, most notably the Masters Tournament in 1992, and the Players Championship in 1984 and 1996. Couples became the oldest person to make the cut in the Masters Tournament history during the 2023 Tournament at 63 years, six months, and five days.
Known to fans as “Boom Boom” for his long, accurate driving, Fred Couples remains one of the most popular figures in the game. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2013 and is a two-time PGA Tour Player of the Year.
Fred Couples Early Life and Background
Early Life and Background
Frederick Steven Couples was born on October 3, 1959, in Seattle, Washington. He is the son of Tom and Violet Couples, and grew up alongside a brother, Tom Jr., and a sister, Cindy. His paternal grandparents immigrated from Italy and changed the family name from “Coppola” to “Couples” to make it sound less ethnic, and his mother was of Croatian descent.
His father worked as a groundskeeper for the Seattle Parks Department, and the family lived in a modest house on Beacon Hill near Jefferson Park golf course. Couples developed his signature loose, rhythmic swing there in order to keep up with older children, and he has said he was self-taught, never taking a formal lesson and never hiring a swing coach.
Couples attended O’Dea High School in Seattle and graduated in 1977. In that same year, he accepted a golf scholarship to the University of Houston, where he became a member of the Houston Cougars men’s golf team.
Path to Golf
As a 19-year-old amateur, Fred Couples beat PGA Tour veteran Don Bies in a playoff to win the 1978 Washington Open at Glendale Country Club in Bellevue, an early sign of the talent he would soon bring to the professional game. At the University of Houston, he roomed with Blaine McCallister, a future PGA Tour player, and future CBS broadcaster Jim Nantz.
Couples turned professional in 1980, beginning a career that would take him from state amateur events to the top of the Official World Golf Rankings. In 1992, he became the first American to reach the No. 1 position in the rankings after their April 1986 launch.
Fred Couples Career
Early Career (1980–1982)
Fred Couples turned professional in 1980 and began working his way onto the PGA Tour. In the early years of his career, he honed the long, accurate driving that would later earn him the “Boom Boom” nickname and the respect of his peers.
By 1983, Couples had earned his first PGA Tour victory, a moment that announced him as a rising force on Tour and set the stage for one of the most consistent careers of his generation.
PGA Tour Breakthrough (1983–1992)
Fred Couples’s first PGA Tour victory came at the 1983 Kemper Open at Congressional Country Club. After regulation play tied him with Gil Morgan, Barry Jaeckel, Scott Simpson, and Chen Tze-chung, Couples birdied the second playoff hole to claim the title. He went on to capture two Players Championships, in 1984 and 1996, and added fourteen more PGA Tour titles to his resume.
In 1992, Couples became the first American to reach No. 1 in the Official World Golf Rankings, spending 16 weeks at the top. Beginning with the Nissan Los Angeles Open, where he defeated Davis Love III in a playoff, he won two tournaments and finished second in two others in the five weeks leading up to the Masters. He was named PGA Tour Player of the Year in both 1991 and 1992 and also won the Vardon Trophy for lowest scoring average in each of those seasons. He represented the United States on five Ryder Cup teams, in 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, and 1997.
At the 1992 Masters Tournament, Couples carried that hot start into Augusta National. After a shaky Sunday opening that gave 49-year-old Raymond Floyd the lead, Couples took it back with birdie putts at the 8th and 9th holes, then saved par with a slick six-footer at the 10th. At the par-3 12th, his tee shot barely cleared Rae’s Creek and somehow stayed on the bank, allowing him to save par and steady his run for a green jacket.
PGA Tour Champions Era (2010–Present)
Couples made his PGA Tour Champions debut at the 2010 Mitsubishi Electric Championship in Hawaii, finishing second to Tom Watson. He then won his next three starts, at The ACE Group Classic, the Toshiba Classic, and the Cap Cana Championship, becoming the first player in Champions Tour history to win three of his first four career events. His strong play earned him the 2010 Champions Tour Rookie of the Year award.
In 2011, he captured his first senior major at the Senior Players Championship, defeating John Cook on the third hole of a sudden-death playoff. The following year, in July 2012, he won The Senior Open Championship at Turnberry by two strokes over Gary Hallberg, sealing the victory with a 25-foot birdie putt on the final hole. As of his most recent appearances, he has been a familiar presence on the senior circuit and at the Masters, where his 2023 made cut at age 63 set a new record for the oldest player to make the cut in tournament history.
Driving Style and Strengths
Fred Couples is celebrated for one of the smoothest, most rhythmic swings in golf history, a motion developed in childhood on Seattle’s Jefferson Park course. His extreme shoulder turn and flat left foot at the top of the backswing helped him generate tremendous distance, earning him the “Boom Boom” nickname during his prime. That same motion, however, has placed significant stress on his lower back, forcing him into an abbreviated schedule in recent years.
Notable Events and Milestones
Beyond his 1992 Masters win, Couples is also remembered for his dominance in the Skins Game, an event he won five times (1995, 1996, 1999, 2003, and 2004) and that earned him the title “King of the Silly Season.” He sank a crucial putt in the 2005 Presidents Cup to beat Vijay Singh, helping secure the team victory, and he captained the U.S. team to a Presidents Cup win in 2009. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2013.
Fred Couples Career Wins
Across his career, Fred Couples has tallied 64 professional wins, including 15 on the PGA Tour, 3 on the European Tour, 14 on the PGA Tour Champions, 1 on the European Senior Tour, and 33 in other competitions. He has also won two Players Championships (1984, 1996) and one major championship, the 1992 Masters Tournament.
PGA Tour Highlights
Couples’s 15 PGA Tour victories span more than two decades, beginning with the 1983 Kemper Open and including two Players Championships, in 1984 and 1996. He earned PGA Tour Player of the Year honors in 1991 and 1992, won the Vardon Trophy in both of those seasons, and led the PGA Tour money list in 1992. He has also posted top finishes in major championships beyond his Masters win, including a runner-up at the 1990 PGA Championship and a T3 at both the 1991 U.S. Open and the 1991 and 2005 Open Championships.
Other Wins & Performances
Beyond the PGA Tour, Couples has found success internationally, winning the Dubai Desert Classic and the Johnnie Walker Classic in back-to-back weeks in 1995 and posting top finishes at events in Australia, Japan, and Asia. On the Champions Tour, his 14 wins include senior major championships at the 2011 Senior Players Championship and the 2012 Senior Open Championship.
Fred Couples Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
Fred Couples was raised in Seattle by his father, Tom Couples, a groundskeeper for the Seattle Parks Department, and his mother, Violet Couples, whose family had Croatian roots. His father’s parents had emigrated from Italy and anglicized the family name from “Coppola” to “Couples,” and he grew up with a brother, Tom Jr., and a sister, Cindy, near the Jefferson Park golf course that helped shape his game.
Personal Life
Couples has been married three times. His first marriage, to Deborah, whom he met as a student at the University of Houston in 1979, ended in divorce in 1993. He married Thais Baker in 1998; the couple later separated, and she died from breast cancer on February 17, 2009. On February 22, 2022, Couples married his longtime girlfriend, Suzanne Hannemann. He currently resides in Newport Beach, California, and is a well-known fan of the Seattle Seahawks, having raised the team’s 12th Man flag in 2013.
2025 Season Performance
Entering 2025, Fred Couples continues to balance a limited schedule on the PGA Tour Champions with select appearances at the Masters Tournament, where he remains a fan favorite. His 2023 record-setting made cut at age 63 underlined his enduring connection to Augusta National and his status as one of the most respected elder statesmen of the game.
Couples’s senior-circuit focus allows him to manage ongoing back problems while remaining competitive, and his record of 14 Champions Tour wins keeps him in the conversation among the most successful players in the tour’s history. Should he tee it up in 2025 major championships, he will be watched closely as he pursues more milestones that further cement his legacy.
While he no longer chases a full PGA Tour schedule, his presence at marquee events continues to draw strong galleries and broadcast attention, reflecting both his playing record and his popularity across generations of golf fans.
