Dubai: Diehard Seattle Seahawks fan Fred Couples has to give up his tickets to Sunday’s Super Bowl after begrudgingly making the cut at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic on Friday.
At just one-under par on the 16th hole of the second round, the 55-year-old American had looked certain to miss the cut and fly home to watch Seattle take on the Denver Broncos in New York.
However, he birdied the last two holes to ensure he stayed in Dubai until the weekend, thus missing out on the chance to see his team in action. This is only the second Super Bowl appearance in the club’s history, having lost to Pittsburgh Steelers in 2006.
Couples dropped a shot with 73 on Saturday to go two under par (70,71,73) for the tournament, tied for 62nd in the leader board 14 strokes behind. And after three bogeys and a double fault on the 12th hole ruined his five birdies, he joked he may as well have flown home early for the match after all.
“I bought these tickets a long time ago,” said Couples. “I knew I was coming here too, but on the idea of maybe not playing well or whatever.
“I grew up in Seattle and I’m a season ticketholder, so I fly up on Saturday nights and watch them play on Sunday. I’m a big believer. I go to tournaments thinking I’m going to do well whatever, but this is different because the idea of me winning is slim and I’m far from doing it.
“I never thought I would be at this game when I committed to come here but you know I hit seven on the 12th hole trying as hard as I could today [Saturday]. If I had done that yesterday [Friday] I would be in New York right now.”
