He hit a poor wedge, knocked a putt over the back of the green and turned a potential birdie into bogey on the 10th hole to slip three shots behind Aaron Baddeley in the Northern Trust Open. Then came a pounding rain as Couples approached the toughest stretch of the course, and the 51-year-old with an aching back braced for the worst.
"I was thinking, 'What am I going to shoot on the back nine, 40?'" Couples said. "You start playing like those guys did yesterday in that weather, anything would have happened."
Something did. The rain stopped. Couples played the rest of the way in 1-under par, keeping alive his hopes of another win at Riviera, and a chance to become the oldest PGA Tour winner in more than 35 years.
Even in good weather, it might not be easy.
Baddeley, whose career once held so much promise when he won the Australian Open as an 18-year-old amateur, is starting to hit his stride since returning to longtime swing coach Dale Lynch. He played 22 holes on Saturday in all kinds of weather and hit just about every shot where he was aiming, including a few putts.
He birdied the 18th in the morning chill to finish off a second-round 69, then ran off three straight birdies around the turn that led to a 4-under 67 and his first 36-hole lead on the PGA Tour in five years.