Fred Couples’ “silent killer” teammate at PNC? His stepmother

Couples Fred has played in 622 PGA Tour events and made 154 more starts on the PGA Champions Tour, but this weekend will mark a first for him: his debut in the Cadillac of silly season tournaments: PNC Championshipa good but still very competitive affair in which 20 of the game’s most accomplished players – including 11 former no. 1 in the world – will be partners for two days with their sons, daughters and grandchildren.

Or in Couples’ case, his stepfather.

In the 36-hole best ball event at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Orlando, the Couples will hook her up with Hunter Hanneman, the teenage son of the Couple’s wife of two years, Suzanne.

Relative to most youngsters on the field, Hunter came to golf late. He was 10 when he first started playing – this was a few years after Fred and Suzanne met – but he quickly warmed to the game, squeezing in a round or practice session between football and basketball games. Today, high-level volleyball is Hunter’s main pursuit, which Hunter says has helped her feel comfortable competing in front of large crowds, as she will at PNC.

This won’t be the first time the couples and Hunter have competed together. Last year they teamed up with a member in Palm Springs, Calif. — they played NFL legend John Elway in the second round — and won. Earlier this fall, Couples said he approached Hunter about playing at PNC. It took Hunter a day to think about it before he decided he was in.

To attend Hunter’s game, Couples and Hunter played five straight days in Palm Springs over Thanksgiving break. “He did great,” Couples said this week. “He hits it a long way.”

Couples said he’s “probably hotter than Hunter” this week. For years, Couples has seen his tourmates – Raymond Floyd, DL3, Tiger – accompany him to their offspring at the event, which always left Couples feeling a little queasy. “I’ve seen enough that every pro walking off the 18th green says it was the best week of their life,” he said.

Now, Couples, who is 65 years old, will finally experience the competition and camaraderie for himself.

When Tiger – who is playing at PNC with his son Charlie for the fifth time this week – caught wind that the Couples were playing, he dropped a message to the Couple.

“Dude, I’m so excited for you,” Tiger wrote, as the couples reminisced about him. “It’s just the hang you’ll love.”

The couples said Tiger also asked if he and Hunter wanted to play with him and Charlie.

“That won’t happen,” Couples said he replied.

Couples and Hunter may not feel quite ready for the spotlight that comes with playing the Woodses, but they will still be in a high-powered group, playing alongside the world No.1 Nelly Korda and her former tennis pro father, Petr. “We’re really excited about it, because for me and Hunter to be in the same pairings with Nelly, we’re going to chill with each other a little bit and have a good time,” Couples said.

He added, “I’ll be watching a lot of Hunter, I’ll be watching a lot of Nelly. I’ll be watching Hunter more.”

The pairings themselves will also be worth watching, in part because fans haven’t seen him play much this year. After missing the cut at the Masters in April, he took four months off to rest his chronically bad back. He returned to the Champions Tour in August but has played just three events in the past five months, with one top-20 finish.

When asked this week if he still enjoys playing, Couples said: “Yes. I just don’t last long. So I’ve been trying my last six or eight years to figure out how I can be competitive and not just go somewhere and play and not beat anybody. And then I train a little harder, and then I’ll go play a tournament and then my back goes out.

“Last year was terrible. I couldn’t really play. And I went to Augusta just because I’m stubborn and I wanted to play.” This week, he added, “I actually — knock on wood — feel really, really good.”

Of course, no matter how he and Hunter play, you figure it’s going to be a successful week regardless. In fact, it sounds like it already has. Of Hunter’s practice partners, Couples said, “All eight people pulled me aside and said they had a blast with Hunter. I never really worried about it. He is a shy assassin. He knows what to say.”