Simply Fred

Your win was hugely popular. Why do you think so many fans pull for you?
I have no idea. I can only guess. I think people like players they can relate to. It seems as if people think they know me. I just think I'm an ordinary Joe who plays golf very, very well.

There are other guys who produce crowds all the time. And when they do well, they don't always get the throngs of people screaming for them like I get. Maybe that's going to come out wrong, but if I get near a lead, it seems as if 70 percent of the people are yelling for me.

What was the reaction after winning at Houston?
Joey [LaCava, Couples' caddie] got in the car and had 32 messages on his cell phone. We're on our way to the airport, and he's saying, "Look at this! They think this is your phone." I got home and our voice mail was full. Same thing the next day. People are still calling.

You had 50 people extend congratulations to you today at the Valley Club. By the 30th person, it was as though you were almost embarrassed by it all.
I usually change the subject to, "How are you doing? How ya hittin' 'em? How's your wife?" I never feel as if I need to be the center of attention. I can go to a restaurant and three people might come up. I go to a golf club and it's everybody. Everyone knows me, and it's a small town. It's fun.

Is it true that you've regularly played the local muny?
Here? Yeah.

Ever get any funny looks when you show up, dragging a pullcart?
I get a chuckle out of it. Usually I don't say anything, like, "Yeah, that's right — it's me." Normally I play with a couple of guys, and we'll get the local pro or someone else.

Your public-course pedigree as a kid may be another reason you're so popular, especially among hard-core golfers.
I used to play with nobody my age, nobody even close. As I got better, like an 11-, 12-, 13-year-old, I was playing with guys 60, 65 years old, and having a blast. It was a good atmosphere — if I screwed around, some of the older guys would let me know.

Getting a read with GiGi and Oliver.

We weren't very wealthy, but in the summer my parents used to give me five bucks every day for 90 days, which was a lot of money. It was $3.50 to play, and the people would let me play all the golf I wanted. I'd have $1.50 left for a hamburger and a Coke, and I'd be up there every single day.

I remember we used to play dime skins on a par-3 course. You know, when you're walking around as a 12-year-old and you're making a putt to beat 25-year-olds and 50-year-olds, it's a wild feeling, I've got to tell you. By the end of the day there would be 12 to 15 guys, and you'd win a skin. You'd lose a few other skins, but you'd win a dollar. And you'd get paid in dimes. I remember it like it was yesterday.

Was golf a sport for geeks at that time?
There were pen-and-pencil sets in the pockets. I was probably oblivious to it until college. Then I got to Houston. We didn't stay in the athletic building, but we stayed in a dorm where a lot of track and swim guys were. I used to play in tennis shoes and jeans, sweatshirts. I was pretty old when I got my first pair of golf shoes, probably 13 or 14.

How did you get started?
I caddied for a guy who was a very good player, and he gave me a set of clubs, just a starter set: 5-iron, 7-iron, 9-iron, putter and driver. I just loved it. How I developed my swing was to just grab a club and start banging balls. This guy I caddied for kept telling me, "Just keep playing. You look like you're having fun. You're hitting it well." That's what I try to tell [son] Oliver: Just keep hitting the ball.

While we're on equipment, set the record straight — did you actually use a 3-wood previously owned by Tom Watson's ex-wife?
It was a ladies' driver. All I know is, I went to his house to practice, to see how he prepared. I think I spent four or five days there. First day we went out to his ranch and shot rifles, which is something I'd never done. Second day I think we went fishing. And the third day, I didn't know what to say — I hadn't played any golf. I'd gone there thinking we were gonna beat balls all day long, so I said, "Are we going to hit balls?" Anyway, we went out. We put the clubs in his trunk, and I just grabbed a driver in there that said 1 on it. He said, "Oh, yeah, that's my wife's." I said, "Wow, it looks good to me." It was a strong 3-wood or ladies' driver with a little extra length in the shaft.

This was way back when. When I got to the next tournament, I put my own shaft in it, and I killed it. When I was playing really well, if there was a hole I didn't like, I took this club out and hit it 260 easily, and it became my favorite club.

To this day I don't know where it is. It's somewhere.