Entertainment
Fred Couples is ageless again at Masters, shoots 1-under in opening round
Augusta National Golf Club has a way of making us all feel young. Patrons step on the ground for the first time and revert to a child-like state of wonderment, floating around a property that’s as close to Disney World as it gets for golfers.
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Join us on WhatsAppPlayers make annual scouting trips in the weeks leading up to the Masters Tournament for “strategy sessions” that are as much an excuse to nerd out, embrace their inner kid and experience a few more rounds at one of the greatest golf courses in the world.
But nobody taps into their youth quite like Fred Couples at Augusta National. Couples, 65, has plenty of aches and pains that keep him from preparing like he used to. His practice regimen ahead of this year’s Masters was a handful of wedge swings at the range and a dozen-or-so hybrids into a simulator in the basement of his home. He didn’t want to wear himself out.
Nothing about Couples’ current form or feeling seems to matter when he steps on the property, though. Thursday’s first round was the latest evidence.
Couples shot 1-under 71 to open the Masters, which included a hole-out eagle on the par-4 14th from just over 190 yards. Couples is the second-oldest player to break par at the Masters, only younger than Tom Watson in 2015.
It’s a feeling Couples gets when he walks around the course. Golf just makes sense. The shots are second nature. He can visualize each green’s contouring in his sleep. And despite playing at a scale unrecognizable to the modern TOUR pro that regularly hits it 40 yards past him, Couples did enough to compete Thursday. At 65, that’s all he wants.
“I can play golf. I can play around here,” Couples said. “If the weather is like this and not hard, I can – as long as I don’t do crazy things I can shoot 73 or 74 or 75. That’s not embarrassing myself at all.”
Couples has believed Augusta National suited him for 40 years. Or, put another way, since he first played here. This year marks Couples’ 40th jaunt around the Masters. He debuted in 1983 and amassed four top 10s before he eventually won the green jacket at the 1992 Masters by two shots over Raymond Floyd. He dreamed of winning it again, a goal he’s given up on – even if he knows rounds like Thursday are still possible.
“If I could have won it one more time it would be the greatest upset in the world of golf, but I didn’t,” Couples said.
Making the cut this year would constitute a mild upset. To watch Couples in 2025 is to understand that, at times, he’s playing a different sport. Paired alongside Taylor Pendrith, Couples was more than 40 yards behind the Canadian after multiple tee shots. Hybrids outnumber irons in his setup. He can’t reach the par 5s in two. And while the rest of the field hopes to finish a few under par on them, Couples was happy with his 1-over score across the four par 5s.
“I learned a few things from him for sure just watching him play,” said Pendrith, who shot 5-over 77, six shots worse than Couples. “He’s played here many, many times. He played awesome today. 1-under par is a fantastic round. He played really steady. Just kind of missed it in the right places and pecked away.”
But a knack for scoring around Augusta National is sticky. Bernhard Langer, who is making his last Masters start this year at age 67, is a prime example. Tiger Woods is another, maintaining his record cut streak (currently 24) in recent years despite his injuries.
Couples’ recent record is spotty as he’s battled his own ailments. His back was “shot” during last year’s Masters, and he revealed Thursday he only got through the week because of several cortisone shots.
The first round was a reminder that the sweet-swinging Couples is still a Masters maestro when his body cooperates. With Langer’s Masters retirement on the mind, Couples was asked after his round when he might hang it up for good.
“I can’t answer that. I really can’t. It will be when I know that I can’t tee off on No. 1 and do really good things and shoot a nice score,” he said. “It’s not how old I am because I’ll tell you, I hit a few drives today that were pretty good. Made the holes play easier for me. Not for anyone else, for myself. So I can get it around. I’m not even going to guess. Might be next year, might be 70.”
For our sake, let’s hope it’s the latter. Since turning 50 in 2013, Couples has made the cut six times and he’s in position for No. 7.
Along with the eagle hole-out at 14, Couples improbably holed a birdie from left of the first green, “down where you don’t want to ever be,” he said. His putt climbed up and over a large slope before slamming into the flagstick and dropping in.
If it were anyone other than Couples, you’d be surprised. But Freddie? It’s just what he does here.
Entertainment
Paige Spiranac’s surprising NFL fandom confession triggers heated debate over loyalty, authenticity, and fan culture
The 2026 NFL Draft starts Thursday night in Pittsburgh, and the spotlight isn’t only on prospects and front offices. Golf influencer Paige Spiranac has again found herself pulled into NFL conversation, this time for her open support of multiple teams.
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Join us on WhatsAppWith the Steelers hosting the first round, her long-standing connection to Pittsburgh has resurfaced. But it’s not just about hometown ties. Her broader fandom, which stretches beyond one franchise, continues to draw mixed reactions at a time when fan loyalty is often treated as non-negotiable.
Paige Spiranac roots for 2 NFL teams: Who are they?
Paige Spiranac has never hidden where her loyalties lie, even if they don’t fit the usual mold. She has consistently pointed to her roots while leaving space for other allegiances.
“Both my parents are from Pittsburgh so I’ve been a Steelers ..fan since the day I was born. I also love the Bills. It’s a complicated relationship…Who’s your team?” she previously asked her followers. It’s a candid admission, one that reflects personal history more than calculated fandom.
Still, the reaction has been sharp. NFL culture tends to rew ..
Entertainment
Quiet moments on the course can say a lot about what’s coming next.
Sometimes the most important work happens when nobody is really watching.
Lexi Thompson was out on the 18th green, working through her putting during a practice round ahead of the Chevron Championship in Houston.
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Join us on WhatsAppIt’s a simple scene, but it shows the kind of quiet preparation that goes into these big tournaments—getting the feel of the greens, adjusting to conditions, and building trust in every stroke.
These are the small details that can shape how a player starts when the pressure kicks in.
Entertainment
Predicting what will happen to Bryson DeChambeau and Phil Mickelson if LIV Golf collapses
It looks like LIV Golf is over.
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Join us on WhatsAppThe Saudi Public Investment Fund has reportedly decided that this league simply isn’t worth the hole it’s burning in their pocket, and they’re pulling funds at the end of 2026.
That gives them less than a year to seek new investment. While CEO Scott O’Neil seems confident, it’s going to be extremely difficult to secure funding for a league that is operating at such eye-watering losses.
So this probably pulls the curtain closed on one of the most turbulent, frustrating, confusing, and ridiculous eras in golfing history. Hopefully, we can all return to some reality after the year is over.
But there is still so much uncertainty surrounding golf’s future thanks to this. Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed saw the signs early and jumped ship, but they did that with some leverage. So what on earth is going to happen to the rest of these players who didn’t take the olive branch when it was offered to them?
Feelings will be hurt, and careers will be ended. Let’s take a look.
Jon Rahm rejoins the PGA Tour
Koepka returned to the PGA Tour under the returning member program, which saw him pay $5 million to charity, accept that he’ll receive no FedEx Cup bonus money, and agree he cannot be a sponsor exemption for the 2026 signature events.
That same deal was offered to Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau. They didn’t accept it, but a similar offer will likely be handed out to them again.
If LIV Golf folds, Rahm will not hold the same leverage as Koepka did, but he is a bigger star at this stage of his career. Make no mistake, the PGA Tour will want him back immediately.
But Rahm does risk leaving himself without any options at all. Reed didn’t come straight back to the PGA Tour, so he’s spending a year on the DP World Tour first. You’d imagine Rahm would consider doing the same, but it might not be so easy for him.
Rahm is in a feud with the DP World Tour, as the only one of eight players to reject a deal which would have seen him retain his full-time membership. If Rahm agreed to play in six DP World Tour events this year, then he could have played on both LIV Golf and the tour. He did not agree.
For now, his membership is at risk. So, will it be possible for him to spend a season on the DP World Tour like Reed? Maybe not. That makes it all the more likely that Rahm will be back on the PGA Tour the moment LIV folds.
Bryson DeChambeau does YouTube full-time
With DeChambeau, I don’t think it’s as much of a done deal that he returns to the PGA Tour. Not immediately anyway.
He’s been negotiating his contract with LIV, which expires at the end of this season. During these negotiations, he’s made it very clear that he is completely willing to step away from full-time competition and be a full-time YouTuber.
DeChambeau’s channel has over two million subscribers, so he could feasibly do that with all of the money he’s making there.
He was annoyed to see LIV move to a four-day format, so he could commit himself fully to being the content king. It would be a wild thing to do, but it’s also exactly the kind of move you could see the two-time major winner making.
He could qualify for The Open Championship and the US Open, and earn enough points there to play The Masters and the PGA Championship. It’s possible.
He does seem to live for competition, so maybe YouTube won’t quite scratch the itch, but it is on the table for DeChambeau. At least for a year until his suspension expires. Out of Rahm and DeChambeau, the American is absolutely the least likely to take a deal.
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