Fred Couples wins Par-3 Shootout

Gaylord: Fred Couples sunk a 36-foot putt for birdie on the 11th hole, before following it up with an 8-foot putt at the next to win the Tylenol Par-3 Challenge in Gaylord, Michigan, USA on Tuesday. Couples netted US$ 270,000 in total, beating US Masters champion Phil Mickelson and veterans Lee Trevino and Fuzzy Zoeller in the light-hearted skins event. Fuzzy Zoeller managed just one closest-to-the-pin award on Monday for the only money he won in the event ($10,000). Another veteran, Lee Trevino and US Masters champion Phil Mickelson tied for second, winning $130,000 apiece. Mickelson won a $60,000 skin on hole No. 14 with a 10-foot putt and validated it at the 15th with a par. Mickelson also won closest-to-the-pin seven times in the competition, including four times on Tuesday. Trevino made a 54-foot putt on the final hole of regulation for birdie, keeping Mickelson from winning the final $80,000 skin in which validation wasn't necessary. That forced a sudden-death playoff that went three holes before Trevino birdied the 21st hole of the competition with an 8-foot putt to claim the final $80,000. But Couples was the big winner on Tuesday. Couples, who also won US$ 440,000 in his 2002 Par-3 Challenge win here, is a 15-time winner on the PGA Tour since 1983 including the 1992 US Masters. (AP)