Best of the Players Championship: The 25 Most Dominant Performances
By Bill Felber
The Fred Couples who came to Sawgrass for the 1996 event was separated by a dozen years, nine titles, one major championship and two years of chronic back problems from the younger version of himself who won in 1984. In many respects, though, he remained the same laid-back, casual Freddie.
His game, however, did not reflect his personality. Couples won with one of the tournament’s best charges, coming from four strokes off the pace on Sunday to overtake four players including third round leader Tommy Toles.
For much of the week, Couples was an afterthought. He stood five strokes back and barely inside the top 10 through 36 holes, and a Saturday 68 only brought him into a seven-way tie for fifth, four behind Toles.
The issue was resolved right where those familiar with Sawgrass would have preferred it to be, on the course’s final three holes.
Couples arrived at the par 5 16 trailing both Toles and Colin Montgomerie, and believing he had to gamble. His second shot flew treacherously close to the pond on the right of the green. “I figured it was wet,” he said. For one of the few times all week, Fred was wrong. The ball touched down, took a fortuitous hop away from the water on a surface softened and slowed by recent rains.
Reprieved, he rolled in the 30-foot eagle putt. One hole later at the island 17th, he made a 25-footer for birdie to take the lead.
Forced to gamble, Montgomerie followed Couples toward the pond on 16…but his ball flew in and finished his rally. “I heard Freddie’s cheer,” Montgomerie explained. “I took it on and I got wet, unfortunately.”
Following a bogey at 15, Toles stayed dry on the 15th but could manage nothing better than a one-over-par finish that left him tied with Montgomerie, both of them four strokes behind Couples.