Couples withdraws from Dick's Open

8/14/2012 (Updated 10:57:42 PM)

ENDICOTT -- Tournament officials announced today that Fred Couples has withdrawn from this years Dicks Sporting Goods Open due to back problems. A recent winner at the Senior British Open, Couples was looking forward to making his first appearance in the Dicks Sporting Goods Open and returning to EnJoie Golf Course for the first time since 1995. Couples won the 1991 B. C. Open in Endicott.

Obviously, given my success at En-Joie on the PGA TOUR, I was really looking forward to playing in this years Dicks Sporting Goods Open. However, my back has been an issue throughout my career and its just not going to allow me to play this week. Couples said. I hope I feel better and compete in Seattle next week.

With or without Fred, it is still undoubtedly the strongest Champions Tour field of the year, said Dicks Sporting Goods Open tournament director John Karedes. We wish him a speedy recovery and hope to see him at En-Joie in 2013.

Couples was replaced in the field by Ken Green, a winner of five events on the PGA TOUR.

Here's an updated Field:

Allem, Fulton                 Glasson, Bill                 Pate, Steve
Allen, Michael             Goodes, Mike               Pavin, Corey
Armour III, Tommy           Green, Ken                   Peoples, David
Bean, Andy               Haas, Jay               Perry, Kenny
Beck, Chip               Hallberg, Gary               Price, Nick
Blake, Jay Don               Hart, Jeff               Purtzer, Tom
Brooks, Mark               Horgan III, P.H.               Reid, Mike
Browne, Olin               Huston, John               Roberts, Loren
Bryant, Brad               Irwin, Hale               Rutledge, Jim
Byrd, Robin               Jacobsen, Peter               Schulz, Ted
Calcavecchia, Mark               Jenkins, Tom           Senior, Peter
Chapman, Roger               Jones, Steve               Sigel, Jay
Clampett, Bobby               Kite, Tom               Simpson, Scott
Cook, John               Langer, Bernhard             Sindelar, Joey
Daley, Joe               Lehman, Tom               Sluman, Jeff
Doyle, Allen               Levi, Wayne               Spittle, Rod
Edwards, Joel               Lowery, Steve             Stadler, Craig
Eger, David               Lu, Chien Soon               Sutton, Hal
Faxon, Brad             Lyle, Sandy               Thorpe, Jim
Fernandez, Vicente         Magee, Andrew           Triplett, Kirk
Fleisher, Bruce               Marsh, Graham           Tway, Bob
Forsman, Dan               Mast, Dick             Wadkins, Bobby
Freeman, Jeff               McCullough, Mike           Watson, Tom
Frost, David               McNulty, Mark                 Weibring, D.A.
Funk, Fred               Morgan, Gil                 Wiebe, Mark
Gallagher, Jr.,Jim               Nielsen, Lonnie           Wood, Willie
Gilder, Bob               O'Meara, Mark                   Zoeller, Fuzzy

Courtesy: dsgopen.com