Let’s be honest — it’s been way too sunny to be sitting around indoors writing about golf this week. But, we couldn’t let the early part of this week slide without acknowledging Fred Couples’ induction into the World Golf Hall of Fame on Monday.
So, before the tee time that we hope you have booked for today (we promise not to tell your boss), take a minute to salute our region’s favorite son with this excerpt from our April issue:
The state of Washington has had its share of great athletes. Few, though, have captured our hearts like Fred Couples.
On May 6, in St. Augustine, Fla., a journey that began on the fairways of Jefferson Park Golf Course came to an end at the World Golf Hall of Fame, where the Seattle native earned a locker alongside Arnold Palmer, Ben Hogan, Bobby Jones and the most hallowed names in golf.
In announcing Couples’ election last fall, PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem cited his 1992 Masters win, his No. 1 world ranking — the first American ever to hold that lofty post — his PGA Tour Player of the Year honors, and his extensive Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup experiences.
All of those are remarkable career achievements— but when it comes to rationalizing Couples’ inclusion among the greatest names in golf, they’re mere window-dressing.
Fred Couples is not going into the Hall of Fame because of the way his ball stopped just shy of Rae’s Creek, or because his 2009 President’s Cup team dominated their World foes as American Ryder Cup squads could only dream of. Indeed, there are a number of outstanding golfers with a resume similar to Couples — many of whom are not, and will likely never be, similarly enshrined.
Fred Couples is going into the Hall of Fame for all of the reasons that Seattle golfers, and indeed golf fans worldwide, have so embraced him over the years: His humility. His grace. His sense of humor. His enthusiasm. And of course, his ability to completely obliterate a small white ball in a way none of us had ever seen before.
And while fans around the world might have a hard time putting into words just what it is about Fred that makes them root him year after year, we recognize it for exactly what it is — it’s his very “Seattleness,” the humble, relatable, down-to-earth personality of a golfer who taught himself the game on one of our municipal golf courses, in a working-class neighborhood, of the incredible city we call home.
More than anything, Fred Couples has always remained one of us, a Man of the People — his induction into the Hall of Fame says as much about the love and loyalty of those of us in his hometown and around the world who have followed his career, as it does for the remarkable achievements he has made along the way.
On May 6, Fred Couples entered the World Golf Hall of Fame. And in a way, so did we.
READ THE FULL TRANSCRIPT OF FRED’S HALL OF FAME INDUCTION CEREMONY!
