‘I’d tell him I love him’: Fred Couples reflects on Tiger Woods’ struggles

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Fred Couples knows something about pain. For nearly half of his 66 years he has battled debilitating back issues that at the Masters two years ago had him in such acute discomfort when hitting short irons that he warmed up with only his driver and 3-wood. In the first round, Couples was so miserable that he wanted to quit but resisted only because he didn’t want to throw his playing partners out of sync.

Tiger Woods, you’ve probably heard, also knows something about pain. No one can say with certainty exactly how many surgeries Woods has had in his professional career (somewhere between “a lot” and “a whole lot”), but we do know the most recent of his seven known back procedures came in October to treat a collapsed disc and compromised spinal canal.

When Woods was arrested for suspicion of DUI on March 27, he told police that he had taken prescription pain medication earlier in the day; police also found opioid pills in Woods’s pocket. On March 31, Woods said in a statement that he was stepping away from the game “to seek treatment and focus on my health” as he works “toward lasting recovery.” A day later, a Florida judge approved Woods’s request to travel overseas for “comprehensive inpatient treatment.” 

Chronic pain isn’t the only thing Couples and Woods have in common. They share a bond that dates to the 1997 Ryder Cup when Couples first took Woods under his wing. In the years since, Woods and Couples became Masters practice-round partners, dinner mates and text buddies. They even shared a caddie; Couples’ former looper, Joe LaCava, went on to spend a dozen years on Woods’s bag. In 2022, Woods referred to Couples as “my dad on Tour.”

So, when Couples wrapped his Monday practice round here at the 90th playing of the Masters Tournament, Woods — and his struggles — was a natural talking point. Couples had seen the unconfirmed reports that a private jet belonging to Woods was spotted in Switzerland but sounded uncertain of Woods’s whereabouts. “If he’s in Switzerland,” Couples told reporters, “he must be at a spot that’s going to help him and that’s the key thing.”

Couples said he texted Woods a few days after Woods’s car accident and subsequent arrest but didn’t feel like it was his place to pry for information. “For me now to get involved with this would not make much sense,” Couples said. “Doesn’t mean I’m not paying attention.”

Couples isn’t alone in that sense. Woods, who won his fifth Masters title in 2019, has played such an outsized role in the last 30 years of this annual rite of spring that it’s hard not think about him when you stroll this storied property. Bubba Watson, who has two green jackets of his own, said Monday he “always” pulls for Woods. “I told him from day one that we started hanging out back in ’06, ’07, somewhere in there, that I’m pulling for him as a human being,” Watson said. “Forget his golf, I could care less about his golf.”

Jason Day, who is playing in his 14th Masters and, like Woods, has battled back injuries, also was asked to reflect on Woods’s situation. “He’s not immune to [addiction] just because he can hit a golf ball really well,” Day said. “When you’re going through that many procedures, it’s painful coming out of those procedures. I’ve had procedures done and I typically try and stay away from all that stuff because I just know that —— painkillers, there can potentially be a downfall to it.”

The severity of Couples’ back pain has ebbed and flowed, but when it has been at its most persistent, he said Monday, it has affected his mood. “I used to snap at everyone,” Couples said. “Felt like someone was tapping me on the back all day long. After eight to 10 hours, you just can’t take it. It’s like a toothache.”

The pain became so bad in 2011 that Couples couldn’t sleep and reportedly was whispering to friends that he might be done with competitive golf. Drastic times called for . . . a trip to Dusseldorf, Germany, where Couples underwent a treatment called Orthokine therapy, which involves doctors creating an anti-inflammatory serum with the patient’s own blood. The procedure brought Couples relief — for a while, anyway. “I am sleeping,” he said a few months later. But the thing with chronic pain is it’s chronic. All you can do is manage it the best you can. Enjoy the more comfortable moments. Endure the uncomfortable ones.

Couples was asked Monday what he’d tell Woods if he could offer his old friend a word of counsel.

“I’d tell him I love him,” Couples said, “and things can always get better.”