Fred Couples was the oldest player at the Masters at the Augusta National in 2023 at 64.

The 1992 Masters champion said in an interview that he would not tolerate shooting 80s in the tournament. Couples said in an interview with the PGA Tour:

“The last thing I want to do is come out and embarrass myself by a bad score,” he said.

“I know I can hit the ball. What is that? I don’t know if that’s a 73 or a 75, but I’m not shooting 80. There’s no way. I’m just not that kind of person. I wouldn’t do that. Can I shoot 80? Of course, I can. But I’m not planning on it.”

He opened with 80 on the first day. This is only the second time in his 39 Masters starts that he shot in the 80s. The first time was the third round of his Masters debut in 1983, where he carded an 81.

Couples played through intense back pain and missed the cut after following Thursday’s 80 with 76 to finish 12-over through 36 holes.

Former Masters champions Larry Mize and Sandy Lyle withdrew from the 2023 Masters. Lyle was 65 and Mize was 64. Couples isn’t ready to call it quits. The 1992 Masters champion said in an interview with the PGA Tour:

“No, no, and I’m planning on being healthy and making the cut and telling Fred (Ridley, chairman of Augusta National) I’m coming back the next year, too.”

If Couples does come back next year and makes the cut, he would become the oldest player to make the cut in Masters history, a record he already broke during the 2023 Masters.

Fred Couples withdrew from the 2016 Masters because of his back. He considered doing the same after Thursday’s round. He needed help stepping down from the podium after his interview.

“Yesterday there were several times I should have not played, but I thought I could help these guys that I was playing with a little bit even though they’re out-driving me by 50 yards with the wind, so I didn’t want to quit.”

The youngest player at the 2024 Masters