Fred Couples is hopeful that Tiger Woods can get the help he needs and come back a better person for it.
"What would I tell him? I tell him I love him and things can always get better," Couples said.
The 1992 Masters champion was asked Monday about any recent interactions he had with Woods prior to his rollover car wreck in Jupiter Island, Fla., that led to his arrest under suspicion of driving under the influence and a subsequent trip out of the United States to seek treatment. Couples said he reached out to Woods, though he said that he generally tries to limit his outreach.
"After the car accident I texted him a couple three, four days later and that's when I think four days after that or four days after that I found out he was going [to Switzerland for treatment]," Couples said.
He added, "When I text him I always ask about his kids and how he's feeling. I don't ask him about his golf game. I don't ask him about Sun Day Red. I don't ask him about anything."
Couples has some empathy for the pain Woods feels after dozens of surgeries on his back, knees and legs over the years. Having struggled with a notoriously bad back for half his life, Couples has been feeling pain and its subsequent impact on his day-to-day life for decades.
"Again, how many, surgeries? Ten or twelve surgeries? I don't know any human being -- let me tell you something. I used to snap at everyone. Felt like someone was tapping me on the back all day long. After eight to ten hours you just can't take it. It's like a toothache."
Couples remains hopeful that Woods is going to the right place for the start of a long-term journey toward recovery.
"If he's in Switzerland he must be at a spot that's going help him," he said, "and that's the key thing."
