AROUND THE GREENS
Couples happy to be on other side of camera at Kapalua in '04

By Bill Kwon

Fred Couples is playing at Kapalua this week after winning the Shell Houston Open — his first tour victory in five years. Associated Press library photo • April 26, 2003

Even golfers don't show up that early for their tee times, Couples said.

"Next year, I'm coming back with my clubs, not a microphone," he told Rolfing.

Sure enough, Couples is in this year's Mercedes Championships after winning the Shell Houston Open for his first PGA Tour victory in five years.

"Doing TV was a major motivation for him, no question," Rolfing said.

Playing Kapalua's Plantation Course will be like old home week for Couples. He won back-to-back Lincoln-Mercury Kapalua International titles in 1993 and '94.

The sprawling par-73 course is also where he recorded his first-ever hole in one.

He high-fived playing partner Bob Gilder after acing the par-3 11th hole overlooking Honolua Bay en route to his repeat victory in 1994.

Couples nearly won the Kapalua International, an unofficial tour event, again in 1996. He lost by one stroke to Paul Stankowski, despite having some troubles on the closing hole, according to Rolfing.

"Freddy hit it out of bounds twice at the 18th (hole), which is 100 yards wide," Rolfing said. "He hit it out two out of three days and still only lost by only one stroke."

Couples is looking forward to playing again at Kapalua.

"I've always enjoyed coming here to Kapalua. They take great care of you," said Couples, who played in the 1999 Mercedes Championships when it moved here after 20 years at the LaCosta Country Club in Carlsbad, Calif.

"It can be a fun week, but it's much different with the Mercedes. It's still fun, but most guys coming over here aren't ready to play. They haven't been banging balls the last two, three weeks."

Tiger Woods, the world's No. 1 player, defending champion Ernie Els, and the four 2003 major winners — Mike Weir (Masters), Jim Furyk (U.S. Open), Ben Curtis (British Open) and Shaun Micheel (PGA Championship) — headline the winners-only field for the 2004 season opener.

However, getting a lot of attention this week will be Couples and four other "golden oldies" who won in 2003 for the first time in a combined 41 years — Peter Jacobsen, Craig Stadler, Tommy Armour III and Bob Tway.

Last year Couples won for the first time since 1998. That's nothing compared to Stadler (1996), Tway and Jacobsen (both 1995) and Armour, who shot a 72-hole record 254 in the Valero Texas Open for only his second PGA victory since the 1990 Phoenix Open.

Like Couples, Jacobsen is no stranger to Kapalua, having played in the very first Kapalua Open in 1982 and its forerunner, the Kapalua Golf Party, hosted by designer Arnold Palmer when the resort first opened its Bay Course in 1975.

That was before Jacobsen, then 21, went to Qualifying School to earn his playing card for a PGA career going into its 27th season.

There were plenty of first-time winners on the tour in 2003 (Curtis, Micheel, Chad Campbell, Steve Flesch, Jonathan Kaye, Ben Crane and Adam Scott), though it was also a year for Couples, Jacobsen and the rest of the forty-something gang. Make that forty-something and over since Stadler turned 50 in June.

Joining the other 40-over set in the Mercedes field are Vijay Singh, J.J. Lewis, Kirk Triplett, Scott Hoch, Kenny Perry and John Huston, making more than one-third of the 30-player field over the age of 40.

With no cut and a $1.060 million winning share of the $5.3 million purse, Singh would like nothing better than to get a jump start in defending the PGA Tour money title he won in 2003, spoiling Tiger's bid to win that honor for an unprecedented fifth year in a row.

The tour's 2003 comeback player of the year, Jacobsen said that the veteran players all seemed to have inspired each other.

"Stadler inspired me. Stadler winning on the tour gives added credibility to the fact that the Champions Tour players can still get it done," said Jacobsen, who could double dip on both tours this year if he wants.

The 44-year-old Couples, a candidate to be a future Ryder Cup team captain, isn't quite ready to join the senior set yet.

There's a lot of good golf left in him if his back holds up, judging by his comeback year in 2003 when he earned a career high $1.82 million to finish 34th on the money list.

"It was a result of a lot of hard work last year. My wife (Thais) pushed me to work with Butch Harmon. I've known Butch for 15 years but never really worked with him before. I won at Houston and was leading at Wachovia two weeks later until my back went out," said Couples, adding that his back problems are something he has learned to live with.

"I'm going to play quite a bit early until the Masters, work on my game and try to stay fresh," said the 1992 Masters champion, who will skip next week's Sony Open but will tee it up again at the Bob Hope Classic.

Bill Kwon can be reached at bkwon@aloha.net.