Experienced Couples cool under PLAYERS pressure

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- He's the essence of cool.

Clothes hang perfectly on his frame. Hair graying in all the right places. Candid, at times, to a fault. Looks like he's comfortable anywhere.

Fred Couples has competed in THE PLAYERS Championship 24 times before this year. (Condon/PGA TOUR)

Couples' first round

Stat Rnd1 Rank Eagles -- N/A Birdies 4 T13 Pars 12 T15 Bogeys 2 T56 Double bogeys -- N/A Other -- N/A Driving accuracy 50 T99 Driving distance 286.0 T64 Putts per round 31 T116 Putts per GIR 1.813 73 Greens in reg 89 T6 Sand saves 0 T68

And details? They only matter when he's talking yardages or breaks on putts. Not grass.

Fred Couples couldn't come up with the name of the grass on the muffs around the greens -- "whatever it is, Florida Bermudagrass I guess it is?" -- but what the heck? He still rang up an opening 2-under-par 70 to give himself a chance at a third PLAYERS title or, at the very least, another top 10.

So what's the first question that someone tosses out? His three-putt at 17.

"What do you want to talk about, the three putt right out of the box?'' he said, letting it roll off his shoulders and right off the table with his response. "I three putted 17."

That done, the soon-to-be-48-year-old settled in and talked about a little of this, a little of that and the fact that, despite having won here twice (1984 1996), he just slid into the field last week.

"One player removed, I can promise you I wouldn't be sitting there for three days waiting at first alternate; that much I can tell you,'' he said. "Not to be mean, I just don't have that in me because the only thing I don't have is if I sat here for three days and didn't get in, I think I'd be miserable for a month.

"But I know -- is it Dustin (Johnson) ? -- he sat here, which was great. But it's his first year. I'm on my 25th, so there's another one or two after it.''

Had he been first alternate, Couples would have flown in Wednesday. As it was, he was here learning the changes he didn't see last year when he missed the event -- and most of the season -- because of that cranky back.

He's still dealing with it, managing it with rest and therapy, and so far, this year, so good. Couples tied for eighth at the Buick Invitational, tied for fourth at the Shell Houston Open with a closing 66 and finished tied for eighth last week at Wachovia.

"I think I'm fairly consistent,'' Couples said. "You know, I haven't had -- I may have one tomorrow -- but I haven't had any bad rounds, so I'm able to not really worry about it. ''

The back? He can't sit or stand in one place for a long time, but he's dealing with it with the help of John Patterson in Waco, Texas. Patterson has also worked on Atlanta Braves' pitcher John Smoltz and Houston Rocket Tracy McGrady.

"He's been making it where I'm not so fidgety, and I'm getting back to that spot,'' Couples said. "But I'm still swinging okay without too much pain or structure where I don't feel good, whereas three months ago, two months ago, I could do a lot -- it sounds funny, get a haircut, go to the dentist, where I could just sit.

"Now I can't sit still very long. But that's okay; as long as I don't feel horrible, I can play.''

He even hinted that he might only have a few more weeks until the back causes problems.

"I don't feel as good as I did earlier in the year, but I feel better than I have in a long time,'' he said. "It's about all coming to an end, though. Another Memorial (Tournament), and then I'll be in the pits.''

Then again, maybe he won't.

Couples went out in 34 Thursday and got it to 3-under after a birdied at the 11th hole. He followed a bogey at No. 14 with a birdie at the 16th. Then, he three-putted from 41 feet.

This is Couples' 25th PLAYERS Championship, so he knows what to expect, how the course will change over four days -- especially if the wind keeps blowing -- and he has the May experience covered since his caddie Joe LaCava caddied for Steve Marino here last year.

"It'll dry out,'' he said. "I don't think we're going to get rain. They say maybe tomorrow night or something. But if it does not rain and keeps blowing, I think it'll be brutal Saturday and Sunday.

"The first day (last year), it blew 30 miles an hour and the scores were ridiculous,'' he said. "That's what we don't want. If we're going to move this to May, we don't want a championship where three of the four days you're trying to play this course in 20 to 30 mile-an-hour winds. It's not built for that.

"Other than that, it's going to firm up and play hard. There aren't even ball marks out there. You just kind of bend over to make it look like you're doing something.''

Like we said -- the essence of cool.