Couples' third round gets off to rough start
Fred Couples left the Champions Locker Room and hurried to his courtesy car waiting in Founders Circle.
The 46-year-old apparently wanted to get away from the first five holes of his third round as fast as he could.
Coming into the day within three strokes of Chad Campbell's lead, Couples didn't do as planned on his early holes. When play was halted by darkness at 7:40 p.m., after he started less than an hour earlier, Couples was 2 under, and four shots behind.
His round started with a pushed tee shot at No. 1 that rolled into the pine needles on the left side. Couples' approach shot drifted right and landed about 15 feet off the green. He chipped up and was in position to salvage par. But his putt trickled past the cup by 2 inches.
Couples socked a long drive on No. 2, the ball kicking off the bunker mounding on the right side and rolling into the middle of the fairway.
The approach was nearly a disaster.
He sliced the midiron and pushed it far right across the third fairway, again into pine needles. He recovered with a long, controlled chip shot and missed birdie by an inch.
"I shanked the second shot (on No. 2) and hit it on the green and almost made a birdie putt," he said. "I teed off at whatever time, 7 o'clock, and I don't think I've ever done that before."
Couples managed par on the next three holes to finish at 2 under heading into today.
On Friday, Couples clinched his 22nd consecutive cut with birdies at Nos. 7, 8, 12, 14 and 17. Today, he'll start at No. 6 with playing partner Vijay Singh. Couples birdied the par 3 on Thursday and made par Friday.
