A native of Seattle, Washington, professional golfer Fred Couples rose to stardom at the University of Houston. By 1992 he had elevated himself to the No. 1 ranked professional player in the world. Couples has won 15 PGA Tours, two European tours and four Champion Tour events.
Couples graduated from O’Dea High School in Seattle and played for the Houston Cougar’s golf team from 1977-1980, earning All-American honors his last two years.
Turning professional in 1980, he had his first PGA Tour victory in 1983 at the Kemper Open. Playing along side pro golfers Scott Simpson and T.C. Chen, the three finished their match over an hour later than the prior group. In the end, Couples scored a birdie to win his first PGA title.
Taking home the Byron Nelson in 1987, his golf career was right on track. In 1991 and 1992 Couples was named PGA Tour Player of the Year, gaining five PGA victories in two years and winning the Masters in 1992.
He stayed atop the No. 1 World Ranking for 16 weeks, winning the Nissan Los Angeles Open and the Nestle Invitational. He has captured 15 career PGA Tour victories, the first of which came at the 1983 Kemper Open. Since he turned pro in 1980, he also has notched 40 top-three finishes, earning more than $22 million. Couples is sometimes called “Boom Boom” because of his long drives and “Mr. Skins” because of his dominance in the Skins Game, an event he has won five times (1995-96, 1999, 2003-04). In August 2011, he won his maiden senior major at the Senior Players Championship. Couples was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 2011.
