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Toshiba Classic
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 "Boom Boom" lets it rip on the first tee. Couples has won two of his first three starts on the Champions Tour (PHOTO: Eddie Meeks). NEWPORT BEACH—Fred Couples has brought a welcome dose of stardom and coolness to the Champions Tour. But if the La Quinta resident keeps playing this well, he might end up robbing the circuit of final-round drama every time he tees it up. What began as a bunched leaderboard on a blustery yet beautiful Sunday at the Toshiba Classic eventually wound up as a blatantly segregated listing, as Couples posted a 6-under-par 65 in the final round and win by four strokes with an 18-under total. Ronnie Black followed a pair of 67s with a 65 to finish alone in second at 14-under. Tom Lehman and Chien Soon Lu, who were both two shots behind Couples when the day began, finished tied for third at 12-under par. Sixty-year-old Tom Watson closed with a scintillating 62 and tied for fifth at 11-under with Loren Roberts. Watching Couples, the senior circuit rookie, record five birdies and an eagle against just one bogey looked easy, but he insisted it was difficult. “I thought it was not easy out there, but once [you get going] on a course particularly like this, you feel like you can birdie a few holes,” said Couples, who has won two of his first three Champions Tour starts and finished second in the other. “You just get a little momentum.” The man renowned for one of the most laid-back countenances in golf history added, “You know, it looks easier than it really is.” Even when the 50-year-old found himself in difficult situations, he handled them with aplomb. He blasted out of a tough greenside bunker situation on the par-3 eighth and made an exceptional par. He blocked his 3-iron second shot on the par-5 18th off the grandstands, but hit a safe shot onto the green and then drained a 20-footer for birdie. “As little pressure as I’ve ever been under, that’s the worst shot I’ve ever hit maybe. I don’t even know what I did,” joked Couples of the approach. “But it was a great way to finish to make that putt and get over some of the embarrassment on that second shot.” What ultimately boosted Couples was his putting. After struggling with 31 putts in the first round, he needed only 26 putts on each of the next two days. Many of those were tricky curlers from inside 10 feet. “That’s pretty much where most of the confidence comes,” he said. “I know I can hit the ball. It just is scoring.” Before Couples began to distance himself from the field with birdies on the par-4 11th and 12th holes, the story of the day was Watson. The Kansas City, Mo., native began the final round with three birdies and a holed 88-yard sand wedge for eagle on the par-5 third. He ushered in his next nine with similar fireworks, posting birdie on hole Nos. 10 through 12 and then making birdies on both par 5s down the stretch. His 62 tied Hale Irwin’s 1998 effort for the lowest final-round score in Toshiba history. “The putter worked great today. I hadn’t putted better for years,” said Watson, who tied his personal best on the Champions Tour by taking only 22 strokes on the greens. “I turned a 67 or 66 into a 62.” Black’s day did not boast the pizzazz of Watson’s, but it was effective nonetheless. The 51-year-old native of Lovington, New Mexico admitted to struggling with his swing in spurts throughout the week because of recent technical changes — however, he found solace with his putter, not recording any three-putts for the whole tournament and tallying 11 one-putts Sunday. “I was a putting genius today,” Black said of his final round. Couples proved to be more of a genius than any competitor, though. After he plays in next month’s Shell Houston Open and then the Masters on the PGA Tour, he’ll shift his focus almost exclusively to the Champions Tour. “I think this is a great Tour,” he said of the Champions Tour. “I think it’s got great players, big names, and I feel good about being on the Tour. And I certainly think that I’m helping The Tour, and I’m helping myself by winning two out of three [tournaments].” For complete Toshiba Classic results, visit PGATour.com. ALSO SEE: Final Round Notebook: Pavin records first top 10 on Champions Tour Final Round Photos Fred Couples Photos |
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