They might have been among the few cheering him on at Riviera.
Baddeley could hear chants of "Freddie!" at every turn, and it got even louder when Fred Couples birdied the opening three holes to take the lead. Unfazed, Baddeley cared only about a victory that was just as meaningful to him.
"I thought Freddie was going to be tough today because winning is a skill, and Freddie has been winning quite often recently," Baddeley said. "When he got off to a good start, I was like, 'Freddie looks like he's going to have one of those days where he's going to play great.' I was still just trying to focus on my game, and try to do what I needed to do."
He did just enough.
In a battle of generations, the 29-year-old Australian made his best putt after his only big mistake and closed with a 2-under 69 to hold off Vijay Singh and Couples, and win for the first time in four years.
Baddeley wound up with a two-shot win over Singh, who turns 48 on Tuesday. The big Fijian closed with a 69 for his best finish in more than two years. Couples, who still had hope on the 16th, bogeyed two of the last three holes and shot 73 to tie for seventh in his bid to become the PGA Tour's oldest winner in more than 35 years.
"I'm a golfer, so I'm disappointed," Couples said.
With his tender back, it only took one hole for the 51-year-old Couples to fall apart. Tied for the lead, he pushed his tee shot into the barranca to the right of the seventh fairway in grass so thick he had trouble finding his ball. Couples gave it a ferocious whack, and the ball came out to the left and into a bunker. He wound up making double bogey, a three-shot swing when Baddeley holed a 20-footer for birdie from the fringe.