December 12, 2007–On Friday, November 16, Fred Couples shot a 12-under par 60 on the Tom Fazio-designed Las Vegas golf course Shadow Creek. The round tied Tiger Woods' 60 as the lowest ever shot on the prestigous layout. The story originally came to public light when NORM!, a Las Vegas Review-Journal celebrity reporter, revealed it in his column, but those that witnessed the round gave inside details about it to GolfLasVegasNow.com, including how Couples–despite looking calm and collected–admitted to being nervous on the tee of the 18th hole, a reachable par five.
At the time he was 11-under par, knew what the course record was and who shot it, and realized he had a chance to shoot an elusive 59 on the golf course that some have called the best in the world. Couples, however, pulled his drive into a left fairway bunker but still managed to get home in two to the back of the final green. He was left with a treacherous 40-footer for the eagle that he needed to shoot 59. He barely missed that put, and settled for a birdie, a round of 60 and a place right next to the world's best player as Shadow Creek course-record holders.
Shadow Creek is one of four area Las Vegas golf courses that have been designed by Tom Fazio (Wynn Golf and Country Club; the Lakes and Desert at Primm Valley Golf Club are the others), and Rainbow Canyon at Lake Las Vegas Resort is in the initial construction stages at Lake Las Vegas Resort.
It was Couples first time out to Shadow Creek in about eight or nine years–he was even turned away once during that time because he wasn't staying at the Mirage (the hotel that owns the course)–and he made the most of the round that was a part of his preparation for the Skins Game in that was played in Palm Springs that following weekend.
It was said that Couples hit 18 of 18 greens during the round, and drained four putts of more than 20 feet. As a comparison, Tiger only holed one putt of more than 20 feet during his record round a few years ago. Also, the witnesses at Shadow Creek said it was amazing how well Couples was swinging, and mentioned that it looked like his swing hadn't changed at all over the years, even now that Couples is pushing 50.
The Shadow Creek rep also said that it would have been tough to see Woods' record broken, but it would have been just fine for someone with the stature of Fred Couples to have done it.
PHOTO: PGATOUR.com