NEWPORT BEACH — For about six years during the 1980s, Fred Couples lived in Newport Beach, near Hoag Hospital.
He said he was an honorary member at Santa Ana Country Club and would spend a lot of time hitting balls at the Newport Beach Golf Course driving range at night.
“I loved it here,” Couples said.
Though he had never played Newport Beach Country Club, he certainly showed that he admired the course throughout the weekend at the Toshiba Classic.
He won the 16th annual Champions Tour event by shooting a final-round six-under-par 64 and finished 18-under-par 195 to win by four strokes Sunday.
Shortly after collecting his $255,500 check, he talked about his only regret with Newport Beach.
“I would get on my hands and knees if I owned [that Newport Beach home] and I still lived there,” said Couples, the 1992 Masters champion. “That was an unbelievable place …The reason I got out of there, I never played any golf.”
He was certainly fine with playing golf this weekend, and he’s been OK with competing on the Champions Tour, for golfers 50 and older.
As a rookie on this tour, he has won in two out of three starts. Sunday was his second straight victory and he opened the year with a runner-up finish in the Mitsubishi Electric Championship in Hawaii.
That’s where he finished second to Tom Watson, last year’s British Open runner-up. The 60-year-old was up to his old tricks again in the final round. Watson, the 39-time PGA Tour winner, shot the best round of the day, a nine-under 62, which tied Hale Irwin’s tournament record, set in 1998, for the lowest score in the final round. Watson also matched his career-best on the Champions Tour with that score.
But Couples’ play on the back nine helped him top the field, as Ronnie Black finished second at 14 under (67-67-65). Tom Lehman (67-65-69) and Chien Soon Lu (65-67-69) tied for third at 12 under, and Watson (69-71-62) and Loren Roberts (67-67-68) tied for fifth at 11 under.
Couples started Saturday, one shot behind the lead after a 66. But a 64 in the second round gave him a two-shot lead into the final round, when golfers dealt with winds up to 20 mph.
