August 8, 2024 • 21 mins
Legendary golfer and Seattleite Fred Couple joins Dave Softy Mahler to talk about the Boeing Classic coming up and fighting back from his back injury, if LIV or PGA should have an event around here, Chambers Bay’s future, and his thoughts on Seattle sports.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's forty four years of fun and laughs and cries.
But I am up here. This is the first turn,
and I've played since Friday of Augusta. And you know,
I'm not that kind of guy to say softly. I
don't want to miss the boweling. It was a few
years ago when I hit a ball off the first
tee and that's the last shot I hit, But that's
(00:23):
because my back went out. This time, my back's been horrible.
But I feel like I can get through. And ye
got some family people going to come up and watch,
and you know what, when the weather's like this, I'll
manage to get it around. I just you know, I'm
getting older and older, and I want to play well
in this thing. But I think this year will be
let's just play fifty four holes and see how we do.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Yeah, well, you Fred, you mentioned it that you haven't
played since the Masters, And look, I mean there should
almost be a website, I think, in a Twitter account
devoted to how your back's doing right, because everybody knows
that you've had struggles with it's your back. Hell, I'm
fifty one, and I can fill it myself, but not
nearly as much as you tell us you know how
(01:06):
you deal with this and has there ever been a
moment for you where you just said this may not
be worth it anymore to keep trying to push through this.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
Well, my favorite line is to my manager that you know,
if you keep getting me deals and if you keep
doing things and I keep playing, when I retire, when
I retire, here's my line. It's it's it's a joke, folks.
So if you're when you're listening to Softy and I
that if I can't play, become a cripple, I'm going
to kill you first and then and then and then
(01:37):
commit suicide. So my whole goal in life, you know,
when you get to be when you when you turn
the corner, when you win a tournament whatever age, then
you want to be better. And then you win a major,
you want to win another, which I never did. Then
when you turn fifty, you know, oh your life starts again.
And it's it's it's really a grind. And I think
(01:58):
I'm not Bernard Lang, who we all know plays almost
all of our tournaments. He had a little achilles problem
this year, but he's bounced back. When I just look
at him, Ernie Elves, you know, so these are the
guys that I play with. And the last year and
a half, you know, I'm playing with Steve Stricker and
he's shooting sixty four and sixty five and I'm shooting
(02:19):
sixty nine or seventy. You know, when I go home
and and guys say, you know how good he is, Well,
you know, he's twelve years younger than me, but I
still feel like I can compete with him. But the
bottom line is, you know, it's like Tiger. We'll throw
a name out there when he's not feeling well. You know,
he can't compete and he knows that. And so all
these tournaments you know that I play in, they're kind
(02:42):
of hit and myths. But for Tiger, you know, so
he sets his whole life around four or five tournaments.
And if you're not feeling well, it doesn't really matter
what you set your schedule on. So it's just one
of those things that you get through. I honestly, I
get to talking about it, but it is part of
my life. But you know, it gets very frustrating because
(03:05):
the more you know, the more people talk about it,
the more I think about it. And I just woke up,
had breakfast with Jun Bracken, who you know, and he's
catting for me, and I just looked at him five
minutes ago and I said, because we gulfed yesterday, how
do you feel? And he just started laughing and I said, yeah,
I get it, John, I feel the exact same. I
just don't know why. And it never gets better. And
(03:28):
so I think I missed the boat where you know,
when I was thirty, should I have worked out and
done all this, But my body was so bad that
I really chose the way that I thought, and I
bounced back so quickly by just walking and stretching a
little bit. But now the more I do softy, the
more it hurts. And so I'm kind of at an
(03:48):
age where, you know, I said this, and when I
retire and quit, I probably Susanne and I'll probably get
a trainer and work out for an hour, because you know,
I'll have twenty four hours in the day to do something.
But for golf, I never felt like it was good
for my hands or my back, or for that matter,
anything especially mentally. So I just played golf and when
(04:11):
it hurt, I rested and I came back. And it's
been going on since. Really I was thirty one years old.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
Well, you've left a giant imprint obviously in this region.
I was out at Inglewood last week and thought about
your event and running into Arnie, you know, out there
a few decades ago, and how great that thing was.
But we mentioned some of the accomplishments for you Fred
at the Open there, and I don't even need to ask,
but I just want to hear you put it into words.
(04:37):
And maybe it's not going to happen this weekend because
you're fighting through the back injury, but how special would
it be and why would it be special for you
to end up one day winning this thing?
Speaker 1 (04:49):
Well, I think it started when I turned fifty. And
again i'm old, so I don't remember, but I think
the US Senior Open at shall he was before the
Boeing Correct, Yes, So I came up here and that
was my goal to win that, and I fought pretty
hard and I had a couple of blunders against laying Her.
And then after that then we just start shooting for
(05:10):
the Boeing Classic, and I believe I'm oh for thirteen,
which you know in golf, if you're talking about a tournament,
you know, okay, Well, you've never won there. But I mean,
anyone wants to win in their hometown, and you know,
whatever year it was a few years ago when I
had a five shot lead. I do say this all
the time. I don't dream anymore about it, but I
(05:33):
sure think about it. And again, Brant joke shot, I
think sixty two or sixty three the last day, and
I think I shot seventy six, which is like, you know,
shooting one hundred. But I do love the course, and
I sometimes before I come up here, I try and
figure out, you know, what I'm doing right or wrong.
And I feel like I play the par fours very well.
(05:56):
I don't play the par fives well. And the par threes,
you know, they're p Probably the toughest set of Part
three is that we have on the Champions Tour. So
the people who played Snowfall me, they know what I'm saying.
I mean, I can't play the seventeenth hole. I mean
I've vogeed it two or three days, the freaking ninth hole.
I've made a hole in one before, but get it
in the water, and then they're just very very good
(06:18):
Part three. So I got to figure out, at whatever age,
you know, how I can instead of shooting sixty nine,
shoot sixty eight. Yeah, And I've been told that it's
playing firm and fast, which kind of helps me because
I'm you know, I'm gonna be massaging the ball around.
But you know, I've always set my goals high for Seattle,
(06:39):
and it's not a well, it was probably a pressure
thing the one year I was leading by five, because
that's an uncomfortable feeling in itself. But I don't come
up here at fifty two or three or four or
seven thinking, you know, oh my god, I got out
of pressure. I actually enjoy seeing several friends that popped
in and out that I grew up playing golf with.
But basically, you know, I'm here because they grew up here.
(07:01):
I love Seattle. I say this every time you're in
the radio. I wake up and the first thing I
checked on is if I already don't know is what
the Huskies do on the stat line or what the
Mariners are doing, And you know, that's that's my feel.
I bought a place up at Mutiny Bay, so I
come up here two or three times a year, and
(07:23):
you know, I'm a homegrown guy. I just don't live here.
And if the weather was like this a lot. I
probably I really don't know what I'm missing because the
last four days up here have been spectacular.
Speaker 3 (07:35):
No doubt, it's been phenomenal.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
And by the way, if you're checking in on the
Huskies and Mariners, you're already qualified to host a daily
sports talk show on this station, So let me know
if you got a hankering to do that down the road.
But Fred Couples is with us on the radio show,
and look, I mean, you've you've you've kind of become,
you know, the voice of golf in this region. I
think people want to know what Fred Couples thinks about
a lot of golf related issues, you know, around the
(07:59):
country locally right now. And we love the Boeing Classic.
We love what's happening. It's still call me every year.
But people often talk about landing a regular PGA event,
and the home course has been brought up. I mean,
do you think the home course could potentially host a
PGA event? And if not, anywhere else in the state
that you think could potentially be a fit for an
(08:19):
event like that.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
Well, I know the girls just played up here at
Sahalli and I try and help a girl, Alison Lee
just you know, talking to her, and I think a
few people know, you know, telling her how good she is.
She had the greatest time of her life. I mean,
there's no one that would come up here and play
in a golf tournament and go away thinking, you know,
(08:42):
Seattle Allow. I wish I wouldn't have gone there, So
you know what a question that is. I mean, I
don't know. The last time I know, I think I'm right,
Craig Perry won it to Holly in a big American
Express tournament, and I don't know why they're in the
PGA event up here, and there's not even a corn
(09:03):
Ferry event, and so you know, I can't there's not
much I can do. I'm I'm actually trying to do
something here shortly, in junior golf with a tournament hopefully.
Well it's it's there's so many of these things going
on that, believe it or not, it's hard to get
(09:23):
a week. You know. I just had a friend who
was playing and he just played in ct PANS tournament
in Dallas. Then he played in bo Hostler's tournament and
Mission Diaho, which is a little bit away from where
I live. And I'm like, you know, is this happening
all over. He goes, well, yeah, they you know, there
are guys putting their Patrick Cantley has one at Virginia
Country Club in Long Beach. So I've never looked at it.
(09:45):
I'm going to start. But you know what, I don't
know why we couldn't have a PGA event here. The
Senior Open was huge. The PGA that I played in,
I don't even know what it was so long ago,
but you know, huge. So one of the things was, uh,
you know, we have Chambers Bay, and I have to
(10:08):
be honest, I don't know how good Chambers Bay is.
I think you know, they had a great winner and
a great guy who finished second, and another great guy
who finished third, So it can't be that bad, of course,
with Jordan's beef and DJ. But one of the things
we need, you know, to look at, is is what
time of year? And you know, these guys all can
get around easily, so you know, there's so many tournaments
(10:31):
now the schedules change that really the best time would
be what here, June, in July and August, maybe not
even June. I know that's really a silly thing to say,
but I listen, if someone called me from the tour,
which they never have and I'm not ever calling them
because it's just not my type to do. But yes,
Seattle should have a PGA tournament, no doubt in my mind.
(10:52):
I mean, it's one of the greatest cities in the world,
the greatest sports town in the world, and we don't
have major but US And you know, I'm proud that
I got to play here for fourteen years and hopefully
another three or four. I think I can get it
around here as long as I can keep moving. But
you know, I would come. I would love to come
(11:13):
see these cats play. You know, every time I get
around them, I really enjoy playing with you know, Thomas's
and the space and now a good new friends, the
Heath Pagala. These guys are so good it's scary, yep.
And I think the people in Seattle, you know, should
get a little take to that.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
It's totally a great Fred Couples again with us. He's
playing in the Boeing Classic this weekend. And Freddie, I'm
glad that you mentioned. Chambers had the US Open here
nine years ago, and I think they've got locations book
through twenty fifty one. There's a couple of dates Open,
I think starting in two tho forty three, in nineteen
years from now. But there was a story that came
(11:51):
out a few weeks ago that, you know, University place
Chambers potentially talking to Live about hosting an event and
just kind of for getting about getting another US Open.
What would your advice be for Chambers Bay? Is it
time to pursue a live event like that or or
focus super laser focused on getting the US Open back.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
Well, I will say that you and I know that
I've made a few comments on the Lift Tour. I
have not softened up on it. What I have softened
up on it is, you know, they're pretty full now
and some of their new guys have not made any
comments or what I consider to be silly comments to
go somewhere and take the money. So we're getting past
(12:35):
that really fast. Would it bother me to have a
Lift tournament Chambers Bay? Not at all, not, because you know,
that's golf. They're going to go somewhere, and if the
fact that if they do go there and they lose
the US Open because of it, then I think that's silly.
But again, twenty fifty one, Softie, I think I'll be
(12:58):
in a grade. So at that time I won't even
know who won the US Open. And if I'm still alive,
can I be alive? Then I'll be so Okay, Well
we'll do the radio show from there and then when
I want to watch, you'll push me around in the wheelchair.
But but but being serious for a second, you know,
(13:18):
I have a lot of friends on that tour, and
I do talk to them more and uh and the
ones that i've kind of you know, even John Ram,
I never said what First of all, if you ever
listen to a radio show, I did every turn. I
picked John Ram and I talked about John Rom. But
what I talked about with John Rom when he went
to the live was, you know, I'll never go. We
(13:39):
showed we we played clips like you do of him
saying things, you know, and then and then he went
and he's not. He doesn't have any harm at me,
but a couple of guys do, and then well they should.
But it doesn't bother me at all. But a live tour.
You know, they played in Portland right a couple of
years ago, so I have that.
Speaker 3 (13:54):
Right, yep.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
So I think, you know, I think people go watch
him and I'm I'm not gonna support anything about it,
but come Sunday night, I'll call my buddies Brooks and
a few other guys and say, how do you like it.
I know they've already played the US Open there, but
if that's the route we go, then that's the route
we go. But you know, let's let's let's not jump
(14:18):
to conclusions. I know that the Live pays to get
these courses, but man, I'd rather see a PGA tournament there.
And I don't know how they do that. I don't
know the big sponsors. I know there's huge ones up here,
but well, it'd be fun to have a PGA tournament
in Washington, no doubt.
Speaker 3 (14:35):
Yeah, Pumpkin Ridge had it.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
That's that's been discontinued by the way in the Portland area,
So we'll see what the future is of that thing.
But Fred just the future of Live and and PGA,
And people often ask me that question, what do you
think the future looks like? And I kind of feel like,
eventually everyone's going to be back together on the same tour.
I'm not sure what it will be called or what
(14:57):
it will look like, but I can see everybody play
and together and then everybody in the Gulf world making
a big deal about this reunion when they're just giving
us what we used to have and charging us three
times as much to watch it. So what do you
look your gut feel on the future of live in
the PGA five years from now?
Speaker 3 (15:17):
What does that look like?
Speaker 1 (15:19):
That's why you get paid the big bucks OFFTI the
last paragraph you said, hit it right on the button.
The only thing I'll talk a little bit about. The
only thing I just don't understand is why this is
taking so long. And I believe for you know, a
champion like Rory when he comes out and he softens
(15:40):
up on it and he wants them to play the
Ryder Cup, and he thinks we should all play together.
Then then you might get another guy that says, no,
screw that. They've they've taken two hundred million, you know,
and now they're going to come play our tour with
two hundred million in the bank and we're grinding and
we're doing this. We don't need them. So I know
there's a lot going on. I wish I could, and
if I knew, I would tell you something. But to me,
(16:03):
it's a little shocking that we don't ever hear anything
about it, and I don't know where our commissioner is,
and I don't know where you know their side is
besides you know Norman. But a lot of it has
got to come back because they're getting older. You know,
some of these guys the west Woods, and they're great. Listen,
(16:25):
they're all great players. I think if I was thirty
two and this happened, there's no way I would have gone.
But you know, for my lifestyle, I only played eighteen
or twenty tournaments and they're playing fourteen and then they
play what form. Well, some of them get in all
the majors and then they might go play somewhere else
(16:47):
if they can get in. So they're going to play
up to twenty times. So we should be able to
live together in this. But I do know that everyone
to live tour. None of them say no, forget the
PGA tour. They'll want to come back. And guys on
our tour, you know that are high up or on
the board. I think there's some bickering on, like let's
just keep doing what we're doing. Do we miss John Rahm?
(17:10):
Of course we do. It helped me out. We miss Sergio,
you know, of course we do. I mean, these are
all top players. But again, another year or two and
nothing happens. You know, now these guys are forty two,
forty three, and I don't think they're going to keep
cherry picking our players. I mean, they can't go pay
someone else five hundred million dollars. None of this makes
(17:31):
any sense. But again, I'm if I had five trillion
dollars to go around for everyone in Seattle, I'd start
handing it out like it was, you know, peanuts. But
that's kind of what they're doing. But let's get back
to the thing. If they did get a tournament at
Chambers or somewhere else, and you and I talked again,
(17:53):
I'd be very happy about it because really the people
in the Northwest could go watch really great golf. And again, Michelson,
you know he's getting the big fifty three or fifty four.
But I have not seen one of these guys really
hit a shot unless it was at the PGA or
US opener Augusta. And that kind of bums me because
I used to turn on to watch see whatever Brooks
(18:14):
or Phil was doing. I haven't seen Brooks swinging a
club on CW channel in three years.
Speaker 3 (18:20):
Yep. Totally agree with weird.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
It's all weird. But let's go. I'm gonna now let
me throw a couple of things. We have one more minute.
I'm sure I want to know the Washington Huskies what
bowl game they'll be in this year.
Speaker 2 (18:33):
Well, it's funny because before we wrap it up, I
was going to ask you about your opinion on some
of that stuff.
Speaker 3 (18:39):
You know, it's funny about that. Fred.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
You tell me about the Husky offensive line and I'll
tell you what kind of year they have. And I
was going to actually ask you as a as a
die and the wool Husky fan Kalyn Boor goes to
the National Championship game Bolts for Alabama. Jed Fish takes
over a lot of Husky fans are mad at Kaylan
for leaving and Bolton for Bama.
Speaker 3 (18:59):
What was your take on that whole season and the
way he left? Man? Did that? Does that anger you
as a Husky fris.
Speaker 1 (19:04):
Well, I'm I'm going to bump into two or three
Bama guys right now, and one is Justice Thomas. Oh no,
but oh no, these guys are all you know, they're
rant and raven because you know who you're gonna get
after coach Saban. They're asking me and I'm like, look,
I know where he came from. He was at UW
short time. He must be pretty good because Alabama's not stupid.
(19:24):
So I don't really know. I have no idea how
the offensive line is. John and I talk a little
bit about in the car. He thinks we might be
a little push above five hundred. I'll put him on
the spot. And then we were talking. You know, obviously
we're hoping the Mariners can somehow. All they need is
one little spurt where they go eight and two, and
(19:45):
I don't know how they're going to do that. But
you know, I don't want to fight with the Astros
that that's probably going to be a tough battle. I
don't care who's hurt. I mean, we're going to get
these guys back. And then the third one would be
our Seahawks, And how are they going to be I
don't know half the play anymore, so I have to
study a little bit. But gim me give me you.
You talk about sports all day. What are the Mariners
(20:07):
going to do? You don't have to say much. Are
they going to make the playoffs?
Speaker 3 (20:10):
Yeah, they'll make it. They'll make it. They're they're they're
they're behind as of now after last night.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
But they their rotation is too good, and they'll they'll
get Julio back, They'll get JP back. They'll find a
way to get in man. So you know, it's funny.
I'm hearing you talk here, and I'm thinking of my brain.
How about a Freddy on Friday segment where you jump
on and just babble about sports for twenty minutes. Get
away from the golf world. Come on the air with us,
and let's start talking baseball, football, basketball. Sonics are on
the way back very soon. We can chat about that.
(20:38):
Freddy on Fridays. You need something in your life to
mix it up and stir it up and get outside
your comfortable box. There, Freddy on Fridays.
Speaker 1 (20:45):
Are you in? I am in? Is it live money
or is it is it normal money? Which you know?
I need live money done, spoiled brat done.
Speaker 3 (20:55):
Well, we'll make it happen.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
I need, I need, I need a lunch at Shuckers,
and I need and I need maybe something, you know,
a piece of art. It would be island. And I'm
ready for Fridays with you.
Speaker 3 (21:11):
Don ime in, I'll talk time in. I'll have my
people talk to Brackens people. We'll figure it out. Man.
Speaker 2 (21:17):
Hey listen, great, great to hear your voice. Best of
luck this weekend. Super fired up to see you out
there starting today at the pro am and tomorrow for
Round one. Don't be a stranger and we'll talk sooner,
right Bud
Speaker 1 (21:30):
Okay, softy, I'll see you tomorrow
It's forty four years of fun and laughs and cries.
But I am up here. This is the first turn,
and I've played since Friday of Augusta. And you know,
I'm not that kind of guy to say softly. I
don't want to miss the boweling. It was a few
years ago when I hit a ball off the first
tee and that's the last shot I hit, But that's
(00:23):
because my back went out. This time, my back's been horrible.
But I feel like I can get through. And ye
got some family people going to come up and watch,
and you know what, when the weather's like this, I'll
manage to get it around. I just you know, I'm
getting older and older, and I want to play well
in this thing. But I think this year will be
let's just play fifty four holes and see how we do.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Yeah, well, you Fred, you mentioned it that you haven't
played since the Masters, And look, I mean there should
almost be a website, I think, in a Twitter account
devoted to how your back's doing right, because everybody knows
that you've had struggles with it's your back. Hell, I'm
fifty one, and I can fill it myself, but not
nearly as much as you tell us you know how
(01:06):
you deal with this and has there ever been a
moment for you where you just said this may not
be worth it anymore to keep trying to push through this.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
Well, my favorite line is to my manager that you know,
if you keep getting me deals and if you keep
doing things and I keep playing, when I retire, when
I retire, here's my line. It's it's it's a joke, folks.
So if you're when you're listening to Softy and I
that if I can't play, become a cripple, I'm going
to kill you first and then and then and then
(01:37):
commit suicide. So my whole goal in life, you know,
when you get to be when you when you turn
the corner, when you win a tournament whatever age, then
you want to be better. And then you win a major,
you want to win another, which I never did. Then
when you turn fifty, you know, oh your life starts again.
And it's it's it's really a grind. And I think
(01:58):
I'm not Bernard Lang, who we all know plays almost
all of our tournaments. He had a little achilles problem
this year, but he's bounced back. When I just look
at him, Ernie Elves, you know, so these are the
guys that I play with. And the last year and
a half, you know, I'm playing with Steve Stricker and
he's shooting sixty four and sixty five and I'm shooting
(02:19):
sixty nine or seventy. You know, when I go home
and and guys say, you know how good he is, Well,
you know, he's twelve years younger than me, but I
still feel like I can compete with him. But the
bottom line is, you know, it's like Tiger. We'll throw
a name out there when he's not feeling well. You know,
he can't compete and he knows that. And so all
these tournaments you know that I play in, they're kind
(02:42):
of hit and myths. But for Tiger, you know, so
he sets his whole life around four or five tournaments.
And if you're not feeling well, it doesn't really matter
what you set your schedule on. So it's just one
of those things that you get through. I honestly, I
get to talking about it, but it is part of
my life. But you know, it gets very frustrating because
(03:05):
the more you know, the more people talk about it,
the more I think about it. And I just woke up,
had breakfast with Jun Bracken, who you know, and he's
catting for me, and I just looked at him five
minutes ago and I said, because we gulfed yesterday, how
do you feel? And he just started laughing and I said, yeah,
I get it, John, I feel the exact same. I
just don't know why. And it never gets better. And
(03:28):
so I think I missed the boat where you know,
when I was thirty, should I have worked out and
done all this, But my body was so bad that
I really chose the way that I thought, and I
bounced back so quickly by just walking and stretching a
little bit. But now the more I do softy, the
more it hurts. And so I'm kind of at an
(03:48):
age where, you know, I said this, and when I
retire and quit, I probably Susanne and I'll probably get
a trainer and work out for an hour, because you know,
I'll have twenty four hours in the day to do something.
But for golf, I never felt like it was good
for my hands or my back, or for that matter,
anything especially mentally. So I just played golf and when
(04:11):
it hurt, I rested and I came back. And it's
been going on since. Really I was thirty one years old.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
Well, you've left a giant imprint obviously in this region.
I was out at Inglewood last week and thought about
your event and running into Arnie, you know, out there
a few decades ago, and how great that thing was.
But we mentioned some of the accomplishments for you Fred
at the Open there, and I don't even need to ask,
but I just want to hear you put it into words.
(04:37):
And maybe it's not going to happen this weekend because
you're fighting through the back injury, but how special would
it be and why would it be special for you
to end up one day winning this thing?
Speaker 1 (04:49):
Well, I think it started when I turned fifty. And
again i'm old, so I don't remember, but I think
the US Senior Open at shall he was before the
Boeing Correct, Yes, So I came up here and that
was my goal to win that, and I fought pretty
hard and I had a couple of blunders against laying Her.
And then after that then we just start shooting for
(05:10):
the Boeing Classic, and I believe I'm oh for thirteen,
which you know in golf, if you're talking about a tournament,
you know, okay, Well, you've never won there. But I mean,
anyone wants to win in their hometown, and you know,
whatever year it was a few years ago when I
had a five shot lead. I do say this all
the time. I don't dream anymore about it, but I
(05:33):
sure think about it. And again, Brant joke shot, I
think sixty two or sixty three the last day, and
I think I shot seventy six, which is like, you know,
shooting one hundred. But I do love the course, and
I sometimes before I come up here, I try and
figure out, you know, what I'm doing right or wrong.
And I feel like I play the par fours very well.
(05:56):
I don't play the par fives well. And the par threes,
you know, they're p Probably the toughest set of Part
three is that we have on the Champions Tour. So
the people who played Snowfall me, they know what I'm saying.
I mean, I can't play the seventeenth hole. I mean
I've vogeed it two or three days, the freaking ninth hole.
I've made a hole in one before, but get it
in the water, and then they're just very very good
(06:18):
Part three. So I got to figure out, at whatever age,
you know, how I can instead of shooting sixty nine,
shoot sixty eight. Yeah, And I've been told that it's
playing firm and fast, which kind of helps me because
I'm you know, I'm gonna be massaging the ball around.
But you know, I've always set my goals high for Seattle,
(06:39):
and it's not a well, it was probably a pressure
thing the one year I was leading by five, because
that's an uncomfortable feeling in itself. But I don't come
up here at fifty two or three or four or
seven thinking, you know, oh my god, I got out
of pressure. I actually enjoy seeing several friends that popped
in and out that I grew up playing golf with.
But basically, you know, I'm here because they grew up here.
(07:01):
I love Seattle. I say this every time you're in
the radio. I wake up and the first thing I
checked on is if I already don't know is what
the Huskies do on the stat line or what the
Mariners are doing, And you know, that's that's my feel.
I bought a place up at Mutiny Bay, so I
come up here two or three times a year, and
(07:23):
you know, I'm a homegrown guy. I just don't live here.
And if the weather was like this a lot. I
probably I really don't know what I'm missing because the
last four days up here have been spectacular.
Speaker 3 (07:35):
No doubt, it's been phenomenal.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
And by the way, if you're checking in on the
Huskies and Mariners, you're already qualified to host a daily
sports talk show on this station, So let me know
if you got a hankering to do that down the road.
But Fred Couples is with us on the radio show,
and look, I mean, you've you've you've kind of become,
you know, the voice of golf in this region. I
think people want to know what Fred Couples thinks about
a lot of golf related issues, you know, around the
(07:59):
country locally right now. And we love the Boeing Classic.
We love what's happening. It's still call me every year.
But people often talk about landing a regular PGA event,
and the home course has been brought up. I mean,
do you think the home course could potentially host a
PGA event? And if not, anywhere else in the state
that you think could potentially be a fit for an
(08:19):
event like that.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
Well, I know the girls just played up here at
Sahalli and I try and help a girl, Alison Lee
just you know, talking to her, and I think a
few people know, you know, telling her how good she is.
She had the greatest time of her life. I mean,
there's no one that would come up here and play
in a golf tournament and go away thinking, you know,
(08:42):
Seattle Allow. I wish I wouldn't have gone there, So
you know what a question that is. I mean, I
don't know. The last time I know, I think I'm right,
Craig Perry won it to Holly in a big American
Express tournament, and I don't know why they're in the
PGA event up here, and there's not even a corn
(09:03):
Ferry event, and so you know, I can't there's not
much I can do. I'm I'm actually trying to do
something here shortly, in junior golf with a tournament hopefully.
Well it's it's there's so many of these things going
on that, believe it or not, it's hard to get
(09:23):
a week. You know. I just had a friend who
was playing and he just played in ct PANS tournament
in Dallas. Then he played in bo Hostler's tournament and
Mission Diaho, which is a little bit away from where
I live. And I'm like, you know, is this happening
all over. He goes, well, yeah, they you know, there
are guys putting their Patrick Cantley has one at Virginia
Country Club in Long Beach. So I've never looked at it.
(09:45):
I'm going to start. But you know what, I don't
know why we couldn't have a PGA event here. The
Senior Open was huge. The PGA that I played in,
I don't even know what it was so long ago,
but you know, huge. So one of the things was, uh,
you know, we have Chambers Bay, and I have to
(10:08):
be honest, I don't know how good Chambers Bay is.
I think you know, they had a great winner and
a great guy who finished second, and another great guy
who finished third, So it can't be that bad, of course,
with Jordan's beef and DJ. But one of the things
we need, you know, to look at, is is what
time of year? And you know, these guys all can
get around easily, so you know, there's so many tournaments
(10:31):
now the schedules change that really the best time would
be what here, June, in July and August, maybe not
even June. I know that's really a silly thing to say,
but I listen, if someone called me from the tour,
which they never have and I'm not ever calling them
because it's just not my type to do. But yes,
Seattle should have a PGA tournament, no doubt in my mind.
(10:52):
I mean, it's one of the greatest cities in the world,
the greatest sports town in the world, and we don't
have major but US And you know, I'm proud that
I got to play here for fourteen years and hopefully
another three or four. I think I can get it
around here as long as I can keep moving. But
you know, I would come. I would love to come
(11:13):
see these cats play. You know, every time I get
around them, I really enjoy playing with you know, Thomas's
and the space and now a good new friends, the
Heath Pagala. These guys are so good it's scary, yep.
And I think the people in Seattle, you know, should
get a little take to that.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
It's totally a great Fred Couples again with us. He's
playing in the Boeing Classic this weekend. And Freddie, I'm
glad that you mentioned. Chambers had the US Open here
nine years ago, and I think they've got locations book
through twenty fifty one. There's a couple of dates Open,
I think starting in two tho forty three, in nineteen
years from now. But there was a story that came
(11:51):
out a few weeks ago that, you know, University place
Chambers potentially talking to Live about hosting an event and
just kind of for getting about getting another US Open.
What would your advice be for Chambers Bay? Is it
time to pursue a live event like that or or
focus super laser focused on getting the US Open back.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
Well, I will say that you and I know that
I've made a few comments on the Lift Tour. I
have not softened up on it. What I have softened
up on it is, you know, they're pretty full now
and some of their new guys have not made any
comments or what I consider to be silly comments to
go somewhere and take the money. So we're getting past
(12:35):
that really fast. Would it bother me to have a
Lift tournament Chambers Bay? Not at all, not, because you know,
that's golf. They're going to go somewhere, and if the
fact that if they do go there and they lose
the US Open because of it, then I think that's silly.
But again, twenty fifty one, Softie, I think I'll be
(12:58):
in a grade. So at that time I won't even
know who won the US Open. And if I'm still alive,
can I be alive? Then I'll be so Okay, Well
we'll do the radio show from there and then when
I want to watch, you'll push me around in the wheelchair.
But but but being serious for a second, you know,
(13:18):
I have a lot of friends on that tour, and
I do talk to them more and uh and the
ones that i've kind of you know, even John Ram,
I never said what First of all, if you ever
listen to a radio show, I did every turn. I
picked John Ram and I talked about John Rom. But
what I talked about with John Rom when he went
to the live was, you know, I'll never go. We
(13:39):
showed we we played clips like you do of him
saying things, you know, and then and then he went
and he's not. He doesn't have any harm at me,
but a couple of guys do, and then well they should.
But it doesn't bother me at all. But a live tour.
You know, they played in Portland right a couple of
years ago, so I have that.
Speaker 3 (13:54):
Right, yep.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
So I think, you know, I think people go watch
him and I'm I'm not gonna support anything about it,
but come Sunday night, I'll call my buddies Brooks and
a few other guys and say, how do you like it.
I know they've already played the US Open there, but
if that's the route we go, then that's the route
we go. But you know, let's let's let's not jump
(14:18):
to conclusions. I know that the Live pays to get
these courses, but man, I'd rather see a PGA tournament there.
And I don't know how they do that. I don't
know the big sponsors. I know there's huge ones up here,
but well, it'd be fun to have a PGA tournament
in Washington, no doubt.
Speaker 3 (14:35):
Yeah, Pumpkin Ridge had it.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
That's that's been discontinued by the way in the Portland area,
So we'll see what the future is of that thing.
But Fred just the future of Live and and PGA,
And people often ask me that question, what do you
think the future looks like? And I kind of feel like,
eventually everyone's going to be back together on the same tour.
I'm not sure what it will be called or what
(14:57):
it will look like, but I can see everybody play
and together and then everybody in the Gulf world making
a big deal about this reunion when they're just giving
us what we used to have and charging us three
times as much to watch it. So what do you
look your gut feel on the future of live in
the PGA five years from now?
Speaker 3 (15:17):
What does that look like?
Speaker 1 (15:19):
That's why you get paid the big bucks OFFTI the
last paragraph you said, hit it right on the button.
The only thing I'll talk a little bit about. The
only thing I just don't understand is why this is
taking so long. And I believe for you know, a
champion like Rory when he comes out and he softens
(15:40):
up on it and he wants them to play the
Ryder Cup, and he thinks we should all play together.
Then then you might get another guy that says, no,
screw that. They've they've taken two hundred million, you know,
and now they're going to come play our tour with
two hundred million in the bank and we're grinding and
we're doing this. We don't need them. So I know
there's a lot going on. I wish I could, and
if I knew, I would tell you something. But to me,
(16:03):
it's a little shocking that we don't ever hear anything
about it, and I don't know where our commissioner is,
and I don't know where you know their side is
besides you know Norman. But a lot of it has
got to come back because they're getting older. You know,
some of these guys the west Woods, and they're great. Listen,
(16:25):
they're all great players. I think if I was thirty
two and this happened, there's no way I would have gone.
But you know, for my lifestyle, I only played eighteen
or twenty tournaments and they're playing fourteen and then they
play what form. Well, some of them get in all
the majors and then they might go play somewhere else
(16:47):
if they can get in. So they're going to play
up to twenty times. So we should be able to
live together in this. But I do know that everyone
to live tour. None of them say no, forget the
PGA tour. They'll want to come back. And guys on
our tour, you know that are high up or on
the board. I think there's some bickering on, like let's
just keep doing what we're doing. Do we miss John Rahm?
(17:10):
Of course we do. It helped me out. We miss Sergio,
you know, of course we do. I mean, these are
all top players. But again, another year or two and
nothing happens. You know, now these guys are forty two,
forty three, and I don't think they're going to keep
cherry picking our players. I mean, they can't go pay
someone else five hundred million dollars. None of this makes
(17:31):
any sense. But again, I'm if I had five trillion
dollars to go around for everyone in Seattle, I'd start
handing it out like it was, you know, peanuts. But
that's kind of what they're doing. But let's get back
to the thing. If they did get a tournament at
Chambers or somewhere else, and you and I talked again,
(17:53):
I'd be very happy about it because really the people
in the Northwest could go watch really great golf. And again, Michelson,
you know he's getting the big fifty three or fifty four.
But I have not seen one of these guys really
hit a shot unless it was at the PGA or
US opener Augusta. And that kind of bums me because
I used to turn on to watch see whatever Brooks
(18:14):
or Phil was doing. I haven't seen Brooks swinging a
club on CW channel in three years.
Speaker 3 (18:20):
Yep. Totally agree with weird.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
It's all weird. But let's go. I'm gonna now let
me throw a couple of things. We have one more minute.
I'm sure I want to know the Washington Huskies what
bowl game they'll be in this year.
Speaker 2 (18:33):
Well, it's funny because before we wrap it up, I
was going to ask you about your opinion on some
of that stuff.
Speaker 3 (18:39):
You know, it's funny about that. Fred.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
You tell me about the Husky offensive line and I'll
tell you what kind of year they have. And I
was going to actually ask you as a as a
die and the wool Husky fan Kalyn Boor goes to
the National Championship game Bolts for Alabama. Jed Fish takes
over a lot of Husky fans are mad at Kaylan
for leaving and Bolton for Bama.
Speaker 3 (18:59):
What was your take on that whole season and the
way he left? Man? Did that? Does that anger you
as a Husky fris.
Speaker 1 (19:04):
Well, I'm I'm going to bump into two or three
Bama guys right now, and one is Justice Thomas. Oh no,
but oh no, these guys are all you know, they're
rant and raven because you know who you're gonna get
after coach Saban. They're asking me and I'm like, look,
I know where he came from. He was at UW
short time. He must be pretty good because Alabama's not stupid.
(19:24):
So I don't really know. I have no idea how
the offensive line is. John and I talk a little
bit about in the car. He thinks we might be
a little push above five hundred. I'll put him on
the spot. And then we were talking. You know, obviously
we're hoping the Mariners can somehow. All they need is
one little spurt where they go eight and two, and
(19:45):
I don't know how they're going to do that. But
you know, I don't want to fight with the Astros
that that's probably going to be a tough battle. I
don't care who's hurt. I mean, we're going to get
these guys back. And then the third one would be
our Seahawks, And how are they going to be I
don't know half the play anymore, so I have to
study a little bit. But gim me give me you.
You talk about sports all day. What are the Mariners
(20:07):
going to do? You don't have to say much. Are
they going to make the playoffs?
Speaker 3 (20:10):
Yeah, they'll make it. They'll make it. They're they're they're
they're behind as of now after last night.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
But they their rotation is too good, and they'll they'll
get Julio back, They'll get JP back. They'll find a
way to get in man. So you know, it's funny.
I'm hearing you talk here, and I'm thinking of my brain.
How about a Freddy on Friday segment where you jump
on and just babble about sports for twenty minutes. Get
away from the golf world. Come on the air with us,
and let's start talking baseball, football, basketball. Sonics are on
the way back very soon. We can chat about that.
(20:38):
Freddy on Fridays. You need something in your life to
mix it up and stir it up and get outside
your comfortable box. There, Freddy on Fridays.
Speaker 1 (20:45):
Are you in? I am in? Is it live money
or is it is it normal money? Which you know?
I need live money done, spoiled brat done.
Speaker 3 (20:55):
Well, we'll make it happen.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
I need, I need, I need a lunch at Shuckers,
and I need and I need maybe something, you know,
a piece of art. It would be island. And I'm
ready for Fridays with you.
Speaker 3 (21:11):
Don ime in, I'll talk time in. I'll have my
people talk to Brackens people. We'll figure it out. Man.
Speaker 2 (21:17):
Hey listen, great, great to hear your voice. Best of
luck this weekend. Super fired up to see you out
there starting today at the pro am and tomorrow for
Round one. Don't be a stranger and we'll talk sooner,
right Bud
Speaker 1 (21:30):
Okay, softy, I'll see you tomorrow
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