Couples gets call to Hall of Fame

It’s a well-known fact in the golf world that Fred Couples doesn’t like to answer the phone. He even made PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem wait last week before returning a call. But Finchem got the last laugh on the call-back.

At the end of the phone call, after having a conversation about an event in which Couples is participating, Finchem said, “Oh, by the way, I want to let you know you just got voted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.”

The rest of the world got the news Wednesday. Couples is the first member of the Class of 2013 and will be inducted on the Monday before The Players Championship.

“I’m not sure I was a great player, but I’m a good player,” Couples said.

Couples received 51 percent of the votes on the PGA Tour ballot. Ken Venturi and Davis Love III each received 38 percent, and Mark O’Meara received 36 percent. The election of Couples may bode well for Venturi, who has 14 professional wins, including the 1964 U.S. Open, and Love, who has 20 wins, including the 1997 PGA Championship.

The somewhat reclusive yet perpetually popular Couples won 15 PGA Tour events and one major championship, the 1992 Masters. Couples was captain of the U.S. Presidents Cup team in 2009 and 2011 and will serve again in 2013. Next week he will be an assistant captain for the U.S. Ryder Cup team.