Fred Couples Calls Phil Mickelson a 'Nutbag,' Says Watching LIV Golf Was 'So Bad'
Don’t expect Fred Couples to hold any doors open for LIV Golf players at Augusta National next month.
Couples, 63, the 1992 Masters champion who will attend the Tuesday night Champions dinner for past winners, made it clear his distaste for those who jumped to LIV Golf during a speaking engagement in Newport Beach, Calif., in advance of the Hoag Classic, a PGA Tour Champions event.
Referring to fellow Hall of Famer Phil Mickelson as a “nutbag," Couples said he doesn’t have an issue with any of the players taking the guaranteed up-front money but that he is bothered by their trashing the PGA Tour on the way out and suggesting the move isn’t about the money.
“If you’re willing to give Phil Mickelson $200 million at age 53 to shoot 74 and 75, God bless you," Couples said, adding: “I don’t have a problem with LIV. What my problem has been when I tweet every now and then, is what these guys say when they go to the LIV Tour."
Couples didn’t refer to Cam Smith by name, saying “the guy who won the Players Championship and the British Open last year" and chiding him for saying, “Now I can have birthdays and go to the weddings of my mates."
“I find that comical, because my favorite to ever play has five kids, 40 grandkids and he has never missed anything—and that was Jack Nicklaus," said Couples, who added he was annoyed by “all these other clowns, like Sergio (Garcia)," who was critical of a ruling he got before jumping to LIV last year.
As reported by the Orange County Register, Couples referred to Mickelson as a “nutbag" but added he is “probably one of the 10 best players that ever played" and said he “still" likes Phil.
“Just go to the LIV Tour, but stop blasting something I’ve been a part of for 42 years," Couples said. “That’s my problem with (LIV golfers). They’re all bashing the PGA Tour, and that affects me a little bit."
Couples, who captained three U.S. Presidents Cup teams and was an assistant at the most recent recent Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup, said he tuned into the first event this year in Mexico.
“It was on the CW a couple weeks ago, or whatever that channel everybody is laughing about," he said. “I turned it on three times. It was so bad. I couldn’t even watch anyone that I liked. They don’t show ‘em."
Couples said he didn’t remember who won (Charles Howell III did).
LIV Golf plays its second event of the year this week in Tucson, Ariz., while the PGA Tour is at the Valspar Championship and Couples is competing on the PGA Tour Champions.