Fred Couples withdraws from Senior PGA Championship
Fred Couples will not play in the Senior PGA Championship, which will take place at Valhalla Golf Club, owing to health issues. The 72nd edition of the Champion Tour event is carrying a purse of $2 million, out of which
$360,000 will go in the winner’s bag.
The 51-year-old American confirmed the news of his withdrawal on his website, which said that the resident of Seattle called the Professional Golf Association Tour officials on Monday and told them that he will not be able to attend
the tournament due to health problems. He explained that he had skin cancer and had the lesions removed from both hands, hence, he won’t be able to hold the clubs.
The winner of 1992 Masters said, “I've got six on one hand and seven on the other. She (the doctor) said they were cancerous. It doesn't mean I'm going to die in three weeks, but I had to get them off now.”
Apart from the skin cancer, the 15-time PGA Tour winner had been suffering from ongoing back problems that restricted him from bending and swinging. Due to the same issue, Couples has been out of practice sessions lately. He did
not hit balls in the practice session that started on Monday at Valhalla Golf Club.
For the same reason, the veteran has been quite inactive on the Champions Tour. The four-time winner of Champions Tour made an appearance in only three events since the start of the season, with his best finish seen at the Toshiba
Classic, where he finished tied in the fifth place.
However, he is ready to compete in the Memorial, which is a Professional Golf Association tour event due on June 2nd in Dublin, Ohio. The event is said to feature the top guns of the PGA and the Champions Tour.
Couples joined the Champions Tour in 2010, when he turned 50, which is the prerequisite of playing on the circuit. In his first year, the American veteran claimed four titles and bagged the second position on the money list by
the end of the season. However, he has not won a major on the circuit, and with PGA Championship out of the schedule, he has lost one more opportunity to claim one.
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