Notes: Couples makes the most of his chance

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Fred Couples didn't realize until a few months ago that he wasn't eligible for the Players Championship, an event he has won twice and counts among his favorite.

Couples missed nearly all of last year with back problems, so he wasn't among the top 125 on the money list. But with so many players pulling out, from Tiger Woods to Martin Kaymer of Germany, Couples kept moving up the alternate list until he got in.

He made the most out of his 25th start at Sawgrass.

Couples was among the leaders until a bogey from the bunker on the 14th, and a three-putt bogey on the 17th, leading to a 70. But he can only imagine being at Sawgrass and waiting to hear if he got in.

"Not to be mean, I just don't have that in me," he said. "If I sat here for three days and didn't get in, I think I'd be miserable for a month."

Couples didn't have to wait and he didn't have anything to complain about Thursday. Coming off an eighth-place finish at Wachovia, the two-time champion looked solid from the start.

"I feel pretty confident," Couples said. "I'm not playing tremendous golf, but if you do a few things, you can inch your way up there."

After taking most of last year off to deal with chronic back problems, Couples returned this year and has put together several solid rounds. He has three top 10 finishes in nine events.

"I don't feel as good as I did earlier in the year, but I feel better than I have in a long time," he said.

Wild day

Adam Scott played some of the best golf Thursday, and also some of the worst.

After missing a 3-foot birdie putt on the opening hole, he birdied the next three and was quickly climbing the leaderboard. But he knew he was in for a long way.

"My focus was terrible out there," Scott said after a 75. "I didn't commit to the top shots."

That would be his long iron on the par-5 11th, so far right of the green that it nearly missed the water. And his 6-iron on the 13th, so far right that it missed the cart path and went into the woods. He was 5-over during a four-hole stretch.