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Fred Couples has been around for a long time and he's been a prominent member of the golf world for a while, too. He won the Masters in 1992 and has become an icon in the industry.
Speaking with Golf.com, he revealed a few fun stories from the Masters Champions Dinner, which is an event for the winners of golf's most prestigious tournament to dine together.
“There are now stories. In ’92 when I won, for four or five or six years, you went, you signed a few autographs, you mingled and then you sat, you ate. Lot more stories [now], which is very entertaining.
"Sam Snead was incredible before he passed away. And probably the greatest story was Arnold Palmer’s last year there. I think maybe he — I don’t want to say he knew he probably wouldn’t be there another year — but he gave a great speech, so probably the greatest thing I’ve ever seen in that room.”
He went on to say that one thing in specific was the best thing he'd seen there yet:
“It’s becoming a very entertaining and fun night. Hideki Matsuyama last year gave a speech in English and got a standing ovation. That was probably the coolest thing I’ve seen in the 31 years I’ve gone."
For what it's worth, Jack Nicklaus had a similar sentiment regarding Matsuyama's Masters speech:
“Doesn’t speak very much English, and he did not look at a note,” Nicklaus said. “He had figured out what he wanted to say. I’m sure he had some help getting it on paper and then memorized it or whatever. But he was terrific.”
Tom Watson, another former winner, felt the same:
“He didn’t miss a word. After the speech was over, he goes, ‘Whew,’ like that. Simultaneously everybody got up to give him a standing ovation, a standing O, because we really appreciated the effort that he put in to go through minutes in English when he had a hard time doing it.”
Hideki Matsuyama impressed everyone there, especially Fred Couples, and he's been invited to the event for over three decades.
Fred Couples is no fan of LIV Golfers
Fred Couples doesn't particularly care if a golfer joins LIV Golf and defects from the PGA Tour and just wishes they'd stop talking about it. Many golfers have cited various reasons for leaving, with many of them saying the lax schedule was enticing to them and their families.
Couples laughed at the idea, saying:
“I find that comical, because my favorite to ever play has five kids, 40 grandkids and he has never missed anything—and that was Jack Nicklaus."
Even still, he's more upset with those who can't stop talking about the Tour. Even when they're gone, they can't help but talk:
“Just go to the LIV Tour, but stop blasting something I’ve been a part of for 42 years. That’s my problem with (LIV golfers). They’re all bashing the PGA Tour, and that affects me a little bit."
Couples isn't as anti-LIV as some, but he's not too pleased with the golfers.
