Sock It to Me: No socks, no worries for easygoing leader Couples

Fred Couples plays golf sockless these days, but he’s been making huge footprints around the golf landscape all year. Thanks to his trademark patience and putting, the now-50-year-old Mr. Cool cruised to a one-shot lead after Day 1 at Augusta National.

By Melanie Hauser, PGATOUR.COM Contributor

AUGUSTA, Ga. – About the socks.

Fred Couples doesn’t wear them. Not with tennis shoes. Or his newfound skater-style ECCO golf shoes with disposable extra soles.

“I did wear some dress shoes for the Champions Dinner the other night,’’ he chuckled, “but they were not on very long.’’

Couples is all about cool and comfort. Easy gait. Easy swings. Anything that will take the heat off his cranky back. Which, of course, popped on cue when he sat down in the interview room Thursday evening.

That came as no surprise. His neck cracked as he worked it loose. Shoulders probably popped when he shrugged them a little, too, when asked about his no-socks approach. Nothing new.

But that 34 on the back nine?  Those 24 putts? That 6-under-par 66 that was good for a one-shot lead over Champions Tour buddy Tom Watson, Lee Westwood, Phil Mickelson, Y.E. Yang and K.J. Choi?

 Now we have your attention. So does he.

Couples may have more salt than pepper in his hair these days. He may be AARP-eligible. But that never stopped us from believing his game was good enough to contend here at the 2010 Masters. Anyone who went 2-1-1-1 in his first four Champions events this year -- yes, he lost to Watson in the season-opening Mitsubishi Championship, then ran off three wins – and has a Green Jacket and locker in the Champions locker room has to be on your short list.

Plus, he tossed in a tie for 14th at the PGA TOUR’s Waste Management Phoenix Open. Note, please, it would have been a top 10 if he hadn’t bogeyed the final hole.

Now this.

When the subject of being a favorite came up last week, Freddie deflected it. “Let’s just say I’m going into one of my favorite places,’’ he said, “playing well.’’

Tuesday, he deflected it again, suggesting to win a second Masters at 50 would be a pipe dream.

“Can I still win?’’ he said after shooting his lowest round ever at Augusta by a shot. “Of course.  It would be a nice dream, that's for sure, but I've got a lot of golf left to even think about being in contention. ‘’

Maybe so. But note that he did lead the first three rounds in 1998 before finishing second to Mark O’Meara.

Thursday, he turned 2 under, then found something on the back. He birdied his iconic 12th hole – the Velcro shot Sunday that won him the 1992 Masters – with an 8-iron to 20 feet, then laid up and wedged it to 6 feet at the 13th to get to 4 under. He grabbed a share of the lead with another up-and-down birdie at 15, then hit an 8-iron to 10 feet to take the lead at 17.

“You know, you're always nervous, because ... no matter what age you are, because you want to do well.’’ Couples said. “I felt like today was just one of those rounds where maybe it was good that the wind was blowing when I was playing, because I wasn't expecting you know, too much, to be honest with you.  And once I got going, I just kept making putts and ended up 6 under.’’

The only bad putt he hit? His 8-foot birdie putt at the final hole, which could have given him a two-shot cushion to go with a great morning tee time Friday.

But he’s not worried. And, in case you’re wondering, he hasn’t worked on his putting. Putting drills are like socks with tennis shoes. Not necessary.

“I very rarely putt,’’ he said. “Even the putting bending over is not good for my back, but it's just happened.
   
“And, you know, we'll see what happens tomorrow and Saturday and Sunday, if there is ... I'm hitting the ball very well, and the putting’s become the best thing in my game.  I mean, I always felt like I could hit the ball, but when I'm making 8- and 10-footers for pars and birdies, it makes my game a lot easier and then I can be a little bit more of an attack player instead of trying to roll a 25-foot birdie up there close and tap it in.

“I've been a little bit more aggressive and I've made a couple extra longer putts, which will help shoot the scores I've been shooting.’’

The buzz coming in was that Couples could and would contend here. He knows the course. He’s comfortable. And as late as 2006, he was right there and tied for third.

What got his attention was his buddy Watson. And Sandy Lyle, who shot 69. And Bernhard Langer, who shot 71.

“For me to be 6 under and (Watson) to be 5 under, it's a great start for the older guys,’’ Couples said. “I know Sandy Lyle played well, someone said, and so did Langer.  It's course knowledge.

“For me, I can play this golf course under a lot of circumstances and again when I was out there today, you know, I knew once I got in and I took away all of the 5 unders that were out there, that it was going to go to even par or 1 under pretty quickly.’’

 So, for Couples, the rest of the week hinges on two things – putting and patience. And, as always, his back.

But socks? Not so much. Even if the look was the talk of the telecast.

What works for Freddie, works. Just one more layer of cool.