Fred Couples has withdrawn from The Players Championship, citing an illness.
Couples has won The Players twice, in 1984 and ’96. He would have been the oldest player in the field at the age of 52 years, 4 months and 7 days. The ’92 Masters champion would have been making his 27th start in the tournament and his first since 2009.
Couples had earned an invitation to compete this week by winning the Senior Players Championship last year on the Champions Tour. Since he was in the field based on that specific criteria, he will not be replaced with an alternate.