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AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) - Fred Couples bent backward on the 13th fairway, looking as if he might start doing some yoga right there in Amen Corner. There was a little twist to the left, a little twist to the right.
With a bad back that could go at any moment, golf feels more like torture to Freddie the fan favorite these days. He's played all of two competitive rounds this year, and when the pain doesn't keep him off the course, the thought of it does.
No way he's missing this week, though. The Masters is his favorite tournament, Augusta is the course he plays the best. Nothing - not even a back that can immobilize him for days - could keep him away.
``This is probably the only tournament I'll play all year,'' he said after his practice round Wednesday. ``Coming in here, being semi-healthy, making the cut and finishing in 45th place, it normally wouldn't be a great thing. But this year it would be.''
Couples has made 22 straight cuts at Augusta National and is the only Masters champion to never miss the weekend. Make it again this year, and he'll tie Gary Player's record for consecutive cuts made.
That's a ``huge deal'' for him, a mark that speaks volumes about his talent as much as his tenacity. This is not an easy course, certainly not one you can fake your way around, and it's taken its toll on everyone from Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus in their primes to Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods.
But something about Augusta National brings out Couples' best. He won here in 1992 and has nine other top 10 finishes.
And last year, he played in the final pairing with Mickelson. It was the 20th anniversary of Nicklaus' back-nine charge to a sixth green jacket, and while ``Boom Boom'' may not be the Bear, fans were thrilled to see Couples doing it at 46, the same age as Nicklaus in 1986.
That story line petered out on the back nine, though, and Couples wound up tied for third. Now, he's 47 - too young to stop playing here, too old to think he's got many more chances to win.
``I didn't expect to do anything last year, but I still expect to play well here,'' he said. ``But health-wise, if I make the cut, it's going to be hard to play five straight days of golf.''
Couples has 15 PGA Tour titles, and there's no telling how many more he might have if not for his back. Spasms at Doral in 1994 forced him off the course for three months. The following year, he missed another three months. He's had to play a limited schedule in several other seasons since then.
But the current pain is like nothing he's ever experienced.
``You could be teeing up a ball or getting out of the car and it will pop,'' Couples said. ``That's what's getting so frustrating.''
He felt well enough to play Pebble Beach in February. But while putting during practice, he went to bend over and that was it. He gave his spot to the guy who was caddying for his amateur partner, left the course and spent the next four days in bed. He was in so much pain, even going to the bathroom was a struggle.
When he finally went home to Santa Barbara, Calif., he had to fly with his legs up.
