Podcast: Fred Couples and His 1992 Masters Win

This year marks the 30th anniversary of Fred Couples’s breakthrough win at the Masters. While the PGA was shut down in the spring of 2020 due to Covid-19, Brendan Porath and Andy Johnson did a special spotlight episode of the Shotgun Start dedicated to Couples.

In 1992, Couples had just risen to become the first American ranked number one in the world in the Sony rankings. He had a dominant run in the 5 weeks preceding the Masters, with two second-place finishes and wins at the LA Open and Bay Hill, where he cruised to a 9-shot victory.

His game had never been sharper, and the pressure had never been higher for Couples to claim his first major. Brendan and Andy talk through the 12th hole on Sunday where his green jacket dreams held on for dear life.

Brendan: “The moment becomes the 12th. What was unbelievable about the 12th, and people would lose their minds today if this happened, is we didn’t find out whether it was dry or in the water for like 15 seconds because CBS had just the camera behind the green. Then finally they get a shot from the other side of Rae’s Creek where they can show you it’s still up on the bank. This was the seminal moment of this tournament, and we didn’t know for 30 seconds if it trickled down or stayed up.”

Andy: “Freddie said about it ‘I didn’t want to shoot for that pin, but there’s this thing in my brain that just shoved the ball over there.’”

Brendan: “He steered towards the trouble almost. That was the biggest moment of suspense.”

For a detailed recap of the 1992 Masters as well as Couples’ life and career, listen to the rest of the episode here.

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