Fred Couples wins SAS Championship with final round 60

At 63 and without a win in 1,939 days, Fred Couples is back in the winners’ circle.

And the Hall of Famers did it in a memorable way.

With five straight birdie runs to wrap up the first nine and seven straight to wrap up the tournament, Couples shot a 12-under-60 with no bogey to turn a tight contest at the PGA TOUR Champions SAS Championship in Cary, North Carolina , in more of a coronation.

Not only did Couples surpass his age by three strokes, it was the lowest round in SAS history and the lowest in Couples’ career on the Champions Tour. He finished 20 under par, beating Charles Schwab Cup leader Steven Alker by six shots and 2019 SAS Championship winner Jerry Kelly by seven.

“It feels really, really good,” Couples said. “I spoke to someone after yesterday’s round and said, you know, someone is going to shoot 65 or 66 and win. And of course I think Alker, I don’t know what he shot, 8 under. But like I said, I warmed up better than ever on the range and I played really, really well. I hit a crappy shot on a 10 in the hazard and made about a 30ft shot for par which was huge. Then I just started making putts.

“The back nine, honestly I’ve shot 58 and 59 before, never in a tournament but for a little bit of money and stuff and you pay a lot of attention to that, but today I was just trying to stay two or three up front from Jerry , because I knew I could birdie at any time. So that was really my goal. I wasn’t worried about Alker or YE Yang (who started the day tied with pairs before falling way out of step) or anyone really. I knew if I stayed just two ahead of him. And then I got three and four and five, then it was over. Wow, he put a barrage of birdies on the front as well. I just did them all on the back.”

Couples had not won since the American Family Insurance Championship in May 2017. The SAS Championship was his 14th win in the PGA TOUR Champions.

The pairs averaged third in driving distance and second in putts per green on average for the week.

“It’s easy to say because we’re standing here, but I think it’s the best round I’ve ever played,” said Couples. “I took a few loose shots, you know, got away from them, but I made so many putts.

“You know, I don’t know what other rounds I’ve ever shot on the Champions Tour that were close to 60, so that would probably be my best round and lowest score by far.”

Despite Sunday’s exploits, Couples said he will not play again this year and will avoid the Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs, although the win has moved him from 60th to 34th overall.

“Well, I was planning on going to Dodger games and going to a Mariners game in Seattle, but now I might go to the Padres and watch them play,” Couples said. “I’m not that type, I have to watch my game. So I’ll probably take the rest of this month off and then in November, December I’ll gradually start dating a few. That’s usually when I do well because I live in California, the weather is perfect. As soon as the season starts, I want to get off to a good start.

“This year my back was so bad I really couldn’t even play until Augusta and I probably shouldn’t have played there but I enjoyed playing there. This is the eighth tournament I’ve played in, so it’s not that many.”

Griffin Flesch, son of Steve Flesch, a two-time winner of this season’s PGA TOUR Champions, caddyed for Couples this week.

“Just amazing. I mean, it’s extremely easy to work for someone when they’re playing so well,” Flesch said. “I’ve worked for my dad a little bit. I’ve never had such an easy day. really cool experience and I’m glad I got the commitment to be out here for it.”

Alker hit an even par 72 on Friday that put him in 40th place. But with 17 top 25s in 19 events this year, he didn’t expect to be left behind.

“It got better and better as the week went on, the swing started to groove. Even this morning on the range and yesterday on the pitch it was good,” said Alker. “Yeah, I started hitting the yards and putting well, so it all came together. So good timing for the upcoming playoffs, I just have a lot of work to do. Three more events, that doesn’t sound like much, but there’s still a lot to do.”

Alker was impressed with Couples’ performance.

“It’s sensational,” said Alker. “Scoring is out there but I didn’t see an 11 under or whatever. He’s betting on 60 or something. Yes, that’s crazy. Obviously Freddie just got the hang of it and started it rolling. You don’t undershoot a 12 without putting well. Good for him, that’s fantastic, nice to see.”