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Fred Couples

United States · born , Seattle, Washington, USA

1major championship

Summary

  • First major 1992 The Masters
  • Ryder Cup 5 Cups · 7-9-4 · 9 points (45.0%)
  • Runner-up in majors 2 times

Wins

  1. 1992 The Masters Augusta National Golf Club · 275 (-13) · by 2 strokes from Raymond Floyd

Near misses

  1. 1984 The Open Old Course, St Andrews · finished T4 · 281 (-7)
  2. 1988 The Open Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club · finished T4 · 281 (-3)
  3. 1989 The Open Royal Troon Golf Club (Old Course) · finished T6 · 279 (-9)
  4. 1990 PGA Championship Shoal Creek Golf and Country Club · runner-up to Wayne Grady · 285
  5. 1991 The Open Royal Birkdale Golf Club · finished T3 · 275 (-5)
  6. 1993 The Open Royal St George's Golf Club · finished T9 · 275 (-5)
  7. 1996 The Open Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club · finished T7 · 277 (-7)
  8. 1997 The Open Royal Troon Golf Club (Old Course) · finished T7 · 281 (-3)
  9. 1998 The Masters Augusta National Golf Club · runner-up to Mark O'Meara · 280
  10. 2000 The Open Old Course, St Andrews · finished 6 · 279 (-9)
  11. 2005 The Open Old Course, St Andrews · finished T3 · 280 (-8)

Ryder Cup

5 Cups, 20 matches: 7 won, 9 lost, 4 halved, 9 points. Foursomes 1-5-0, four-ball 4-3-2, singles 2-1-2.

  1. 1989 The Belfry (Brabazon Course) USA · tied 14–14 · 0-2-0, 0 points · automatic
  2. 1991 The Ocean Course, Kiawah Island Golf Resort USA · USA won 14.5–13.5 · 3-1-1, 3.5 points · automatic
  3. 1993 The Belfry (Brabazon Course) USA · USA won 15–13 · 0-3-2, 1 point · automatic
  4. 1995 Oak Hill Country Club (East Course) USA · Europe won 14.5–13.5 · 2-1-1, 2.5 points · captain's pick
  5. 1997 Valderrama Golf Club USA · Europe won 14.5–13.5 · 2-2-0, 2 points · captain's pick

Rivals

Beat him

Ryder Cup partners

Ryder Cup opponents

Next in the chain: Wayne Grady's rivals →

Moments

  1. 1992 Masters Couples' tee shot at the par-3 12th stopped on the bank short of Rae's Creek instead of rolling into the water, and he went on to win his first major by two.
  2. 1992 Masters Mark Calcavecchia shot 29 on the back nine in the final round, the first 29 on either nine at Augusta National.
  3. 1995 Ryder Cup José María Olazábal withdrew with a foot injury on 1995-09-11 and Ian Woosnam replaced him. Woosnam then halved the singles with Fred Couples.

Records and firsts

  1. 1989 Ryder Cup Biggest Ryder Cup winning margin: Singles (18-hole), 8&7 · Tom Kite over Howard Clark (1989); Fred Couples over Ian Woosnam (1997) (1989, 1997) (Tom Kite over Howard Clark (1989); Fred Couples over Ian Woosnam (1997))

Results by championship

    Best day

    1992 Masters

    Augusta National Golf Club · 275 (-13) · by 2 strokes from Raymond Floyd

    Couples' tee shot at the par-3 12th stopped on the bank short of Rae's Creek instead of rolling into the water, and he went on to win his first major by two.

    Mark Calcavecchia shot 29 on the back nine in the final round, the first 29 on either nine at Augusta National.

    Chosen by rule: his widest winning margin in a major. Year page: 1992.

    Career line, 1984–2005

    Masters
    1992 Masters: won1998 Masters: runner-up to Mark O'Meara
    PGA Championship
    1990 PGA Championship: runner-up to Wayne Grady
    The Open
    1984 The Open: finished T41988 The Open: finished T41989 The Open: finished T61991 The Open: finished T31993 The Open: finished T91996 The Open: finished T71997 The Open: finished T72000 The Open: finished 62005 The Open: finished T3
    Ryder Cup
    1989 Ryder Cup (USA): 0-2-01991 Ryder Cup (USA): 3-1-11993 Ryder Cup (USA): 0-3-21995 Ryder Cup (USA): 2-1-11997 Ryder Cup (USA): 2-2-0
    19851990199520002005

    17 results. Hover or tap a mark; click it for the year.

    • Major win
    • Runner-up
    • Top 10
    • Ryder Cup, USA

    Fred Couples was born on October 3, 1959, in Seattle, Washington, USA. Couples won one major championship: the 1992 Masters. Couples played in 5 Ryder Cups for USA (1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997), winning 7, losing 9 and halving 4 of 20 matches for 9 points.

    See Fred Couples in our rooms: The Masters, The Open, Greatest Golfer by State and Every Ground.

    Cards you pull this visit stack here. Tap one to go back to it.

    The record

    Wins in the majors (1)

    1. 1992 The Masters Augusta National Golf Club · 275 (-13) · by 2 strokes from Raymond Floyd

    Near misses

    Top-10 finishes are listed for The Open, the one championship with a full top 10 every year.

    1. 1984 The Open Old Course, St Andrews · finished T4 · 281 (-7)
    2. 1988 The Open Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club · finished T4 · 281 (-3)
    3. 1989 The Open Royal Troon Golf Club (Old Course) · finished T6 · 279 (-9)
    4. 1990 PGA Championship Shoal Creek Golf and Country Club · runner-up to Wayne Grady · 285
    5. 1991 The Open Royal Birkdale Golf Club · finished T3 · 275 (-5)
    6. 1993 The Open Royal St George's Golf Club · finished T9 · 275 (-5)
    7. 1996 The Open Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club · finished T7 · 277 (-7)
    8. 1997 The Open Royal Troon Golf Club (Old Course) · finished T7 · 281 (-3)
    9. 1998 The Masters Augusta National Golf Club · runner-up to Mark O'Meara · 280
    10. 2000 The Open Old Course, St Andrews · finished 6 · 279 (-9)
    11. 2005 The Open Old Course, St Andrews · finished T3 · 280 (-8)

    Ryder Cup

    Couples played 5 Ryder Cups for USA: 20 matches, 7 won, 9 lost, 4 halved, 9 points (45.0% of those available). By format: foursomes 1-5-0, four-ball 4-3-2, singles 2-1-2 (won-lost-halved). Vice-captain: 2012; 2021; 2023.

    1. 1989 The Belfry (Brabazon Course) USA · tied 14–14 · 0-2-0, 0 points · automatic
    2. 1991 The Ocean Course, Kiawah Island Golf Resort USA · USA won 14.5–13.5 · 3-1-1, 3.5 points · automatic
    3. 1993 The Belfry (Brabazon Course) USA · USA won 15–13 · 0-3-2, 1 point · automatic
    4. 1995 Oak Hill Country Club (East Course) USA · Europe won 14.5–13.5 · 2-1-1, 2.5 points · captain's pick
    5. 1997 Valderrama Golf Club USA · Europe won 14.5–13.5 · 2-2-0, 2 points · captain's pick

    Partners, with matches played together: Raymond Floyd (4), Paul Azinger (3), Davis Love III (3), Brad Faxon (2), Lanny Wadkins (1), Payne Stewart (1), Jay Haas (1).

    Masters Champions Dinner

    1993, as the 1992 champion

    1. Main course Chicken cacciatore
    2. Sides Spaghetti

    Confidence: Reported. Menu status: Partial. Said to nod to his Italian heritage (family name originally Coppola). Gene Sarazen called it his favourite Champions Dinner (Golf Digest Middle East).

    Records and firsts

    Rows from our record tables that name this player, worded as the tables word them.

    1. 1989 Ryder Cup Biggest Ryder Cup winning margin: Singles (18-hole), 8&7 · Tom Kite over Howard Clark (1989); Fred Couples over Ian Woosnam (1997) (1989, 1997) (Tom Kite over Howard Clark (1989); Fred Couples over Ian Woosnam (1997))

    Sources

    Elsewhere: Wikipedia · Wikidata.

    Every fact on this page comes from Golf Network News data sets compiled in October 2026 (Masters, PGA Championship, The Open, U.S. Women's Open, Ryder Cup, PGA Tour 2024–2026, major host sites, Champions Dinner menus, and the U.S. Open and state rooms). These are the sources those rows cite.

    1. pgatour.com: bio
    2. Wikipedia: Fred Couples
    3. golfcompendium.com: masters winners
    4. golfcompendium.com: us open winners
    5. golfcompendium.com: pga championship winners
    6. golfcompendium.com: british open winners
    7. golfcompendium.com: most wins in major championships golf
    8. golfcompendium.com: pga tour career wins
    9. where2golf.com: fred couples
    10. golfcompendium.com: 1998 masters tournament
    11. WP: List of American Ryder Cup golfers
    12. Golf Compendium
    13. Wikidata: Q708633
    14. Wikipedia: 1992 Masters Tournament
    15. golfcompendium.com: 1992 masters
    16. nbcsports.com: by the numbers jumpsuit numbers for every masters champions caddie
    17. todays-golfer.com: how the masters prize money has changed over the years
    18. golf.com: masters purse masters winners payouts alltime
    19. Wikipedia: Masters Tournament
    20. pgatour.com: what is the cut at the masters tournament augusta national (archived copy; the original link no longer works)
    21. todays-golfer.com: cut rules
    22. golfcompendium.com: what is the cut at the masters
    23. liveabout.com: what are the yardages at augusta national during the masters 1564592
    24. R&A 1984
    25. R&A 1988
    26. R&A 1989
    27. R&A 1991
    28. R&A 1993
    29. R&A 1996
    30. R&A 1997
    31. R&A 2000
    32. R&A 2005
    33. GC: 1989 ryder cup
    34. Wikipedia: 1989 Ryder Cup
    35. GC: 1991 ryder cup
    36. Wikipedia: 1991 Ryder Cup
    37. GC: 1993 ryder cup
    38. Wikipedia: 1993 Ryder Cup
    39. GC: 1995 ryder cup
    40. Deseret News 1995
    41. Wikipedia: 1995 Ryder Cup
    42. Golf Channel
    43. GC: 1997 ryder cup
    44. SI Vault 1997 — link no longer works (checked October 17, 2026): https://vault.si.com/vault/1997/08/25/you-da-man-lee-janzen-made-tom-kites-job-as-captain-a-little-easier-by-proving-with-his-play-at-winged-foot-that-he-belonged-on-the-ryder-cup-team
    45. Wikipedia: 1997 Ryder Cup
    46. golfdigestme.com
    47. Wikipedia: List of Ryder Cup records