Missed putts cost Fred Couples

Time and time again, Couples put himself in position to challenge Jack Nicklaus' 20-year-old record as the oldest champion in Augusta National history. At 46, he had no trouble keeping up with the young guys off the tee. His iron shots were just as accurate. But things went awry when his caddie pulled that putter out of the bag.

A missed 4-footer for birdie on the second hole hurt. Another short miss on No. 11 added to the pain.

It was nothing compared to what happened on the 14th hole, with the green jacket still very much in doubt.

Simply put, Couples choked.

Or rather, he admitted he couldn't handle the pressure of a putt that might have given him a boost toward a second Masters title.

Maybe when he was younger and still playing weekly on the PGA Tour. Not now.

"I felt like I needed to hit it firm at 14. I was nervous and I got a little jumpy. I hit right through the break," Couples said matter-of-factly. "That was pretty much the ballgame for me."

Couples had no problem with the shot to the green, hitting it to 4 feet for birdie. With Mickelson facing a tricky 45-foot downhiller, a make and a Mickelson three-putt would have tied things up.

But he struck his putt much too hard, the ball skidding across the lip of the cup. He had 5 feet coming back -- and missed that one, too.

"I didn't hit the ball like I was 46," Couples said, sounding optimistic. Then, back to reality. "I putted like I was 66," he added.

Couples began the afternoon in the final group just one stroke behind third-round leader Phil Mickelson. Couples was three shots back at the end, shaking his head after a 1-under-par 71 that could have been so much better.

All he could do was watch coming up No. 18, a mere spectator in the final group as Mickelson lumbered away with his second green jacket. Couples remains stuck on one, an increasingly distant memory from way back in 1992.

Considering his age and bad back, who knows how many more chances he'll get?

Couples missed at least five putts from inside 10 feet on the icy, dicey greens of Augusta National. He three-putted three times. Despite all his experience on the hallowed course -- this was his 22nd Masters and he's never missed a cut -- he never figured out all the subtleties of the most treacherous short grass in the game.

"I felt like at least from tee to green, I was close if not maybe a little better today than these guys," Couples said. "But to win this thing, you've got to putt well. I wasn't horrible, but I was just mediocre. I just couldn't get one to go in the hole to get any momentum. That was disappointing. Otherwise, I liked the way I played."

He trailed Mickelson by a mere stroke when they came to Amen Corner. Couples reached the green in two at the tricky 11th, though he still had 40 feet of work to do. He lagged the putt down to within 4 feet and waited for Mickelson to go.

The leader had a longer putt and the nagging thoughts of three straight bogeys on that hole. But Mickelson put it right in the hole, then stepped back to watch Couples. His ball caught the left edge, spun all the way around the back of the cup and rolled back toward him.

Couples poked at the green with his balky club, as if trying to find something -- anything -- that might have knocked the ball off line. Then he swept it across the grass, knowing all too well who was to blame.

"That took a lot of the steam out," he said.

Mickelson, who had spent much of the round laughing and joking with Couples, wished his playing partner could have made a few more putts.

"You don't want to win like that," Mickelson said. "If he knocks that first putt in (at 14), we would have had one heck of a time that final four holes."

Couples had to use his putter for nearly half his shots -- 34 out of 71. Only Darren Clarke did worse on the green, putting 37 times on his way to a 77.

If Couples had been more accurate with the short stick, he surely would have given himself a lead on the front side. After missing his birdie chance at the second hole, Couples put himself back in position to grab the lead for himself with an uphill 10-footer at No. 3 -- about as easy a chance as one gets on these greens.

It missed.

"You cannot miss putts," he said, "and win tournaments."