Couples ready to prove he's worthy of Ryder Cup

CBS Sports announcer Jim Nantz was walking the 18th fairway at Medinah Country Club, trying to get an idea how difficult a closing hole it will be for the PGA Championship. Perhaps he shouldn't have been watching Fred Couples.

When his game is on, Couples tends to make everything look easy. And when Couples plays with a sense of purpose, he can be downright dangerous.

"I expect to play well," Couples said Monday following his first practice round at Medinah. "I've been home practicing, working on my game. I'm ready to play."

He has a lot riding on how he plays this week.

Couples is the most experienced active American in the Ryder Cup, having played on every team since 1989. He would like to play on his sixth straight team, and told captain Ben Crenshaw as much in a meeting two weeks ago.

Now, he wants to prove he deserves it.

Currently 17th in the standings going into the final event for Ryder Cup points, Couples would have to finish at least fourth to have any chance of getting one of the 10 automatic berths. The more likely scenario is for him to make the team as a captain's choice.

Maybe.

"If I don't play well here, there's no way I'll be on the team," Couples said. "That doesn't mean I need to win here. But I need to feel as though I can beat anybody. If I play well, I can look at the guy and say, `Hey, I'm hitting it where I'm looking. I'm going to be ready."'

What kind of score will that take? Couples isn't sure.

In fact, he's not exactly sure what to make of Medinah, which hasn't seen the top players in the world since the 1990 U.S. Open.

All Couples and the rest of the field know is that at 7,401 yards, Medinah is the longest course for a major championship that wasn't played in high altitude. It might play shorter, depending on where the PGA of America puts the tees, but there is no mistaking the par-5s -- three of them are at least 580 yards.

"They're fairly boring in a golf way," Couples said of the par-5s. "They're beautiful holes. But you hit a drive and then say, `What do I have -- 320 to the front?' Hit 4-iron and 80-yard shot. But they're very difficult. I wouldn't mind par on every other one, because you can make 6s on them."

That and the greens, which were so baked by record heat in Chicago that many of them already had brown spots on them Monday, were his only complaints.

Medinah is known as the "Monster of the Midwest," and it has Couples' utmost respect.

"It's nice to be playing a course of this caliber," he said. ``From the standpoint of hitting the ball, I think it's one of the hardest courses we'll play."

The hardest course in what has been a tough test of majors was Carnoustie Golf Links, something Couples chose not to experience. He wanted to go, but didn't consider it a prudent decision to risk back problems with a trip over the Atlantic.

After what he saw on television -- 6-over as the winning score -- it was a smart decision. But Couples is also enjoying the best of times of his life with his wife, Thais, and the six weeks away from golf has helped recharge his batteries.

"I haven't been in competition for a while, so that's tough," he said. "But I hope to be ready to go. I feel like I'm way better than I was a month ago. Even if I don't do well, I feel I'm back to playing a little better."

That would be good news to Crenshaw, who fills out the remaining two players on his U.S. team the morning after the final round.

Whether Couples is part of that team could depend largely on how he handles Medinah. Couples has earned nine points in his five years on the Ryder Cup (7-9-4), but he hasn't lost a Sunday singles match since his first year in 1989.

He has said his days on the Ryder Cup are numbered. He has said he would not be afraid to tell Crenshaw or any other captain not to consider him as a captain's pick if he didn't feel like he deserved it.

But Couples isn't ready to concede that quite yet.

"Do I want to play? Heck, yeah," he said. ``I'd love to be on the team.''

AP