Tag: golf

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Earlier today, I posted about the 65-year old Fred Couples shooting one under par in the first round of The Masters and thus placing him in good position to break his own record as the oldest golfer to make the cut at Augusta National. But while Mr. Couples may become the oldest golfer to make a Masters cut, he will have to leave the record for oldest golfer to have a Masters round. I quote from ESPN UK:

Fred Couples, who wondered a month ago if at 65 with a creaky back he would still be welcomed to play, became only the second player that age to break par … Tom Watson was also 65 — by 28 days he is still the oldest — when he shot 71 in 2015.

[ESPN UK, April 10, 2025]

I do not think I knew that record. However, Mr. Watson featured prominently in my article on the oldest golfers to contend at major championships, notably for his near-win at the 2009 Open Championship at age 59. While I did not recall Mr. Watson’s 71 in 2015, I did make a note of his performance at the 2010 Masters coming off almost winning the British Open nine months earlier.

Tom Watson did not contend for another major, but he would make the cut in five majors after turning 60. His best showing was a tie for 18th place at the 2010 Masters, wherein he was one shot behind the leader – Fred Couples (age 50) – after a first round 67.

Mr. Couples finished sixth at the 2010 Masters after leading at the end of round one. He narrowly missed my cut-off criteria for oldest golfers to contend at majors (my criteria was (1) older than 48 years, 4 months, and 18 days; and (2) top-five finish or within five shots of the winner).

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I noted in an article on the oldest golfers to contend for major championships that Fred Couples has always been a favorite of mine (thanks in no small part to Fred Couples Golf for Sega Game Gear). Mr. Couples is 65 years old, having reached the milestone on October 3, 2024. While he competes almost exclusively on golf’s 50-and-over Champions Tour these days, he is competing in his 40th Masters this week with his lifetime exemption from his 1992 victory. Mr. Couples shot an impressive (in general, but especially for a 65-year old) one-under 71 in the first round, thanks in large part to a chip-in birdie on the first hole and holing out from 191 yards for eagle on the par-four 14th. While I would be surprised to see Mr. Couples close enough to the lead on Sunday to qualify as a new addition to my oldest golfers to contend for major championships list, he is in good position to break the record for the oldest golfer to make the cut at the Masters. The record holder is Fred Couples, who set the existing mark in 2023. But Mr. Couples may not control his own record destiny. The 67-year old Bernhard Langer (1985 and 1993 Masters Champion), who is competing in his final Masters, shot a two-over 74, which gives him a chance to make the weekend in his farewell Masters if he posts a solid second round tomorrow.

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Golf gets a new look with high-tech indoor league by Cassandra Cassidy (Morning Brew)
TGL has star power in Woods, but the sports world is waiting to see if young fans take to the new age game, or if it flounders like SlamBall.

Cassandra Cassidy concluded a report in Morning Brew about the TGL, a new indoor golf league headlined by Tiger Woods and Rory McIllroy, by asking an open-ended question: “[T]he sports world is waiting to see if young fans take to the new age game, or if it flounders like SlamBall.” [Cassandra Cassidy at Morning Brew (01/07/25)] I submit for the record that when I started reading the article (I had not previously read about TGL), my first thought was SlamBall. Seldom have I ever felt so on the same weve-length as a reporter. All jokes aside, SlamBall, which is roughly basketball-plus-trampolines (I found it vaguely reminiscent of the NBA Street video games), is neat for the first five-to-ten minutes. I remember when ESPN tried to make it a thing in the early 2000s and I watched a couple of games, but its moment came and went quickly. The TGL is similarly (if not more) gimmicky, but it has the advantage of having the biggest name in golf (still Tiger Woods) whereas SlamBall did not feature any broadly recognizable practitioners. You may be wondering how this is a things I learned post. Learning that TGL exists is not very exciting and I noted that I remember watching SlamBall in the early 2000s. While looking for a good SlamBall link, I learned that ESPN apparently planned to air SlamBall in 2023 and 2024. [Katie Hughes Martin for ESPN Press Room (June 21, 2023)] That was the plan at least, but it does not look like SlamBall 2024 happened. [Wikipedia; January 11, 2025 capture of blank 2024 schedule on SlamBall website] In any event, it was (or is) a solid come-back, I assumed that SlamBall had gone the way of the dodo after the first ESPN rodeo in 2002.