Couples Out of First Masters Since 94

Fred Couples

Fred Couples is to miss his first Masters since 1994 after pulling out of this year's tournament because of acute back pain.

The 56-year-old, who won the green jacket in 1992, remains a threat at Augusta National, sharing the 36-hole lead in 2012 and was one shot behind going into the weekend in 2013.

His career has been slowed by back problems in the last 20 years, with Couples admitting the recent pain has been too much for him to prepare or to compete.

Couples has played only three times this year, once on the PGA Tour. He missed the cut at Riviera while visibly struggling with his back.

Tiger Woods, Jim Furyk and Jose Maria Olazabal are all also ruled out due to injury and with Korea's Sang-moon Bae performing military service.

The field in Atlanta this year is 89 players, the fewest since 2002.

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Jones and Spieth in Final Duel

Matt Jones is relishing a final-round duel for the Stonehaven Cup with world No1 and defending champion Jordan Spieth after retaining control of the Australian Open. Not even a blistering back-nine charge from Spieth, highlighted by a spectacular eight-iron hole-out from 165 metres for an eagle two on the 17th, was enough to knock Jones off his perch on Saturday.

After a horror start in which he dropped three shots in the first four holes, Spieth blitzed his last 10 holes in seven under par to fire a day’s-best 67 to move to seven under for the championship. But Jones, a lifelong member of The Australian Golf Club, finished with his own flurry with back-to-back birdies in a 68 to surge to 10 under.

The two US PGA stars will go head-to-head in the final pairing but Jones vowed not to get bogged down in any Sunday shootout with the reigning Masters and US Open champion. “It’s not match play at all. It’s me sticking to a game plan, managing the course and just giving myself opportunities,” Jones said. “If I go out and shoot two or three under tomorrow, I’m going to be very tough to beat. So it’s in my hands.”

Spieth acknowledged as much but said ominously that he was peaking for the final round and would draw confidence from his course-record 63 he shot last year to run away with the Stonehaven Cup. “If he shoots something amazing like last year and beats me, that’s what I’ll have to deal with,” Jones said. “I’m very comfortable with where I am and I’m looking forward to it.”

"I’m just happy to be in the final group and leading the tournament with a chance to win. There’s no better player to beat on the final day and to have him in the group and to go up against the world No1 is going to be a lot of fun.”

Bidding to become the first international player since the legendary Jack Nicklaus in 1976 to win back-to-back Open crowns, Spieth at one point trailed Jones by eight shots before setting up what shapes as a grandstand finish to the 100th Open. Rhein Gibson (68) is five shots off the lead in outright third with Lincoln Tighe (70) and Aron Price (70) six back in equal fourth.

Former champion Geoff Ogilvy (71) is at three under, while Adam Scott is all but out of contention despite carding a 68 on Saturday. Scott eagled the last hole to join Brett Rumford (69), Northern Irishman Darren Clarke (70) and Todd Sinnott (74) at one under and among just 10 players in red figures.

Victorian Anthony Brown provided an early third-round highlight with a hole in one. His beautifully struck five iron on the 198-metre second hole lit up the Open on an otherwise gloomy morning at The Australian. But the 33-year-old’s sixth ace of his career failed to ignite his round as he finished with a three-over 74 to be seven over for the championship, a distant 17 shots behind Jones.

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Spieth Eases Ahead of Stenson

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Jordan Spieth birdied the final hole to take a one-shot lead into the final round of the PGA Tour's season-ending Tour Championship.

The 22-year-old, one of five players who will automatically claim the FedExCup title this week, carded a birdie-two at the par-three last to close a two-under 68 and move one-shot clear of overnight leader Henrik Stenson in Atlanta.

After bouncing back from a dropped shot at the first with an eight-foot gain at the third, Stenson temporarily saw his lead cut to one when he followed a blemish at the tenth with a three-putt bogey at the 11th.

Paul Casey had closed the gap with back-to-back birdies at the sixth and seventh but failed to pick up another stroke all afternoon, while Rory McIlroy's four gains in a seven hole stretch around the turn briefly moved him within one of the Swede.

Stenson restored his two-shot cushion by rolling in a 22-footer at the 14th, only to see Spieth half the gap by sliding in an eight-foot gain at the next.

A double-bogey at the last from McIlroy saw him back four adrift, as a missed long-range par-save from Stenson at the penultimate hole saw Spieth move in to a tie for the lead heading to the last.

As the Swede two-putted from 30 feet for par to close a two-over 72, Spieth rolled in 20-foot gain to take the outright lead at eight under.

Four birdies on the back nine helped Rickie Fowler to a round-of-the-day 67 in tricky conditions to claim a tie for third alongside Casey, with Zach Johnson joining McIlroy a further stroke back.

World No 1 Jason Day posted consecutive gains on the back nine, but will still head in to the final round in the group eight shots off the pace after a level-par 70 at East Lake.

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Things Go Better for Stenson

Henrik Stenson will take a convincing lead in to the weekend at the Tour Championship, where Jordan Spieth surged up the leaderboard.

Stenson's previous appearance at East Lake saw him lead from start to finish to win the FedExCup title and US $10m bonus to go with the tournament first prize of US $1.4m.

And the Swede remains on course to repeat the feat after a two-under 68 gave him a three-shot lead over nearest challenger Spieth, who pulled himself back into contention with a round-of-the-day 66.

Any time you can maintain or extend your lead is always going to be a good day," Stenson said. "I did not feel like I played my best golf today but made some nice putts for birdie and kept it together pretty nicely."

Resuming two shots clear of Paul Casey after an opening round of 63, Stenson was able to double his advantage by the turn in difficult scoring conditions at a rain-soaked Atlanta.

Casey briefly moved within a stroke of the lead with a seven-foot gain at the first, only for the Swede to birdie two of his opening four holes.

After Stenson and Casey bogeyed the fifth, the Englishman lost further ground by double-bogeying the next after hooking his tee shot in to a water hazard.

That temporarily left Zach Johnson in second spot after the Open champion posted back-to-back gains at the seventh and eighth, only to run up a double-bogey seven and bogey the following two holes.

Gains at the ninth and 12th lifted Casey into joint-second alongside Spieth, who completed his bogey-free round with a 20-footer at the last.

A birdie on the 12th kept Stenson comfortably in front, although the Swede missed the chance to restore his four-shot cushion with a two-putt par from nine feet at the last.

Casey lies four shots off the pace after a blemish at the last, with Johnson a further stroke adrift despite closing his round with back-to-back gains.

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Tiger Troubles in Turkey

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Tiger Woods failed to cash in as the opening round of the inaugural Turkish Airlines Open in Antalya turned into a birdie-fest.

Overnight thunderstorms and torrential morning rain meant the start was delayed by three hours and the soft greens and lack of wind at the par 72 Montgomerie Maxx Royal meant scoring conditions were ideal.

But while three players - Englishmen Paul Casey and Steve Webster along with South African Darren Fichardt all ended the day tied for the lead on seven-under - Woods could only shoot one-under in the 10 holes he managed before darkness fell.

That left the world number one down in a tie for 50th in the elite 78-man field contesting the penultimate event of the four-tournament Finals Series.

Race To Dubai leader Henrik Stenson fared better as he carded five birdies and a bogey in an outward 31 to sit on four-under after 10 but Justin Rose, despite two opening birdies, also failed to make hay and ended alongside Tiger at -1.

Woods made the ideal start by flipping a wedge to four feet at the par five opening hole and rolling in the putt for a birdie four.

After pars at two and three, he escaped with another after narrowly avoiding the water at the fourth - Rose did get wet and made bogey - before adding another three to stay at one-under after seven.

The 14-time major winner got the ball rolling again with a birdie two at the eighth but failed to get up and down at the ninth after coming up short with his approach and fell back to one-under. Woods added a par at 10 but failed to complete the 11th after the darkness quickly closed in.

Rose followed his bogey at four with another at five but birdied six before reeling off four straight pars. Stenson's only dropped shot came at two as he birdied one, three, four, seven and nine to make his move up the field.

Lee Westwood also finished the day at four-under after 11, one in front of playing partner Ian Poulter.

As for the leaders, Casey (who birdied his first four holes), and Fichardt still have four holes still to complete while fellow pacesetter Webster has six.

"I really thought you've got to get off to a quick one and I did exactly that," said Casey.

"It was foot flat to the floor today and just fire at the pins, take advantage of the soft conditions and see what happens."

In a bunched field, eight players share fourth spot - Ricardo Gonzalez, Thorbjorn Olesen, Rafa Cabrera-Bello, Ricardo Santos, George Coetzee, Peter Uihlein, Thomas Bjorn and Justin Walters.

Gonzalez and Olesen were two of just 15 players to complete 18 holes as they set the clubhouse target of six-under 66.

The first round will resume on Friday at 8am local time while round two tee-times will be the same as in the original first round draw.

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Olazabal Points to Seve Trophy

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Jose Maria Olazabal has called for Ryder Cup qualifying points to be made available at the Seve Trophy in order to entice the top golfers to play in the biennial match between Britain & Ireland and Continental Europe.

Olazabal led Europe to a 15-13 win over Sam Torrance's Britain & Ireland side at St Nom La Breteche on the outskirts of Paris earlier this month but the competition was something of a damp squib.

Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter and Luke Donald were among several leading players to shun the event and the match attracted small crowds and generated little media attention.

"We all owe something to Seve (Ballesteros)," said Olazabal of the late Spaniard who won five majors in a swashbuckling career that lit up the European Tour. "And it would be really good to see the top players competing.

"I think to make it fit as a legacy to Seve we need to have the really top players playing in it. That would make it a fantastic tournament.

"Maybe they could get points that would count towards Ryder Cup qualification. That would make it more appealing and more interesting.

"It is a team event after all," Olazabal told Reuters in an interview.

The 47-year-old Spaniard, who also led Europe to a remarkable Ryder Cup comeback victory over the United States in Illinois last year, had mixed feelings about the absence of the tour's leading lights at St Nom La Breteche.

"I was a little sad some of the top players didn't play but on the other hand I understand most of them have a tight schedule," said Olazabal.

"They were committed to the FedExCup in America and they knew they also had four very important events in the European Tour's Final Series at the end of the year that are going to be crucial for them so I guess they have to have time off here and there.

"But I've always believed the Seve Trophy can be a very important tournament," said Olazabal while attending the Nespresso Trophy final for amateur golfers in San Sebastian, Spain where the company was announced as the official coffee supplier for the 2014 Ryder Cup.

"The format is beautiful because we don't play much match play any more and the atmosphere is great.

"We all know each other really well in both teams, we try to beat each other on the golf course but after that we make sure we have a great time so it would be nice to see the top players involved more."

Olazabal, who shed tears of joy after the spectacular Ryder Cup victory at the Medinah Country Club last year, has not ruled out a possible vice-captaincy role when Paul McGinley leads Europe in the 2014 edition at Gleneagles, Scotland.

"After Medinah I don't think it could get any better than that for me," said the 1994 and 1999 U.S. Masters champion, "but if Paul thinks I could be of any help then obviously I would think about it.

"I would talk to Paul, let's put it that way."

Henrik Stenson virtually assured himself a place at next year's Ryder Cup after pocketing $11.4 million for winning the FedExCup last month and Olazabal believes the tall Swede will be a positive influence in Europe's team room.

"We have to take our hats off to Henrik, what a season he's had," said the Spaniard. "It's been quite amazing especially coming from where he has come from, quite extraordinary."

Stenson was outside the world's top 200 not long ago but a string of sparkling performances this season have sent him rocketing to fourth in the rankings.

The Swede has transformed his career in much the same way Olazabal did. The Spaniard won the 1999 Masters after battling back from rheumatoid polyarthritis in three joints of his right foot and two in his left.

"We were both at rock bottom and somehow, in different ways, we managed to find our way back to the top," said Olazabal. "You have to give every credit to Henrik in that regard.

"He is pretty much in the Ryder Cup team already. He played in it in 2006 and 2008 so he's got experience and he is a good team player.

"Henrik has a very open attitude, he's not afraid of showing his emotions and I think he will be a positive asset to the team." 

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Stenson Extends Lead

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Sweden's Henrik Stenson leads the Tour Championship after carding a first-round six-under 64 in Atlanta.

The world number six had a run of four birdies on the East Lake course and after a bogey on the 16th, he birdied the last to lead Adam Scott by one.

Justin Rose is two under while fellow Englishman Luke Donald is level par.

The 30-man field is competing for the $10m (£6.24m) bonus prize for winning the FedEx Cup - Tiger Woods leads the points going into this final event.

However, the world number one, who is guaranteed to win the pot if he is victorious, opened with a three-over par 73.

It was the American's first round without a birdie since the 2010 US Open and he is 29th.

Four other golfers are guaranteed to take the $10m prize if they win the event - which itself carries a first prize of $1.4m (£875,000) - Stenson, Scott, Zach Johnson and Matt Kuchar.

Johnson and Kuchar both shot rounds of 69 to lie one under but it was 37-year-old Stenson who made the best start, holing from seven feet at the second, eight inches on the fourth and four feet on the fifth to race to three under.

An accurate tee shot on the par-three sixth left him with another tap-in birdie before an eight-foot putt on the seventh and a birdie on the par-five 15th took him to six under.

Stenson's performance came just three days after he knocked the head off his driver by smashing into the ground in frustration towards the end of his rain-delayed final round in the BMW Championship on Monday and then damaged his locker.

Stenson paid for the damage and "apologised to the appropriate parties".

Australia's Masters champion Scott sank six birdies in seven holes from the 10th to shoot up the leaderboard and finish on five under, one shot ahead of American duo Billy Horschel and Steve Stricker.

An eight-strong group containing Rose, Spain's Sergio Garcia and American Dustin Johnson are in touch at two under.

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