Tommy Fleetwood just won the 2025 FedExCup Championship. Xander Schauffele claimed two majors in 2024. Keegan Bradley captained the U.S. Ryder Cup team. Justin Thomas has 16 PGA Tour victories under his belt.
Together, these four stars have 34 PGA Tour wins between them. But here’s the twist: None of that might matter on November 28. A five-time Skins Game champion just revealed why greatness doesn’t guarantee victory in this format. His advice could flip the entire competition.
Fred Couples sat down with SiriusXM PGA Tour radio ahead of the Skins Game’s highly anticipated return. The 1992 Masters champion knows a thing or two about winning this event. After all, he dominated the competition like no other player when the format debuted in 1983. His wisdom? Simple yet profound.
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“You don’t have to be great on any given day in a Skins Game, you just got to win a few holes.”
Couples proved his point with a story that perfectly captures the event’s unpredictable nature. He recalled playing alongside Arnold Palmer, a moment that left him intimidated as hell. Everyone in the gallery was rooting for the King. Palmer would hit shot after shot with precision. Meanwhile, Couples found himself driving into the desert.
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Yet somehow, Couples would birdie the next hole on a long par-4. Palmer would just laugh. That’s the beauty of the Skins Game. Consistency matters less than clutch moments.
“There are some shots there that people remember forever.”
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He mentioned Lee Trevino’s iconic hole-in-one. The shot came during a heated battle with Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, and Gary Player. These memories still resonate decades later. The stakes were real. The drama was unmatched. Couples went on to win five times between 1995 and 2004, earning the nickname “Mr. Skins.”
Now, the Skins Game returns after a 17-year absence. The November 28 showdown at Panther National marks a significant moment for golf. Amazon Prime Video will broadcast the event exclusively at 9:00 a.m. ET. The “reverse purse” format adds a modern twist. Each player starts with $1 million on the scoreboard. Every hole won or lost changes that number.
Couples’ advice rings especially true given the format. Players don’t need perfect rounds. Instead, they need decisive moments. A player can struggle for several holes, then seize one critical skin. The unpredictability factor makes this a must-watch television. Fleetwood enters as the reigning FedExCup champion. Bradley carries the weight of his recent Ryder Cup captaincy. Schauffele brings two 2024 major championships.
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Justin Thomas brings unique perspective as Panther National co-designer
For Justin Thomas, this event carries additional significance. He co-designed Panther National with Jack Nicklaus. This was Thomas’s first course design project. The collaboration opened in November 2023. Nicklaus praised Thomas’s learning process throughout the design phase.
Thomas suggested changing the layup zone on the par-5 11th hole. Everyone laying up in the same spot wouldn’t be interesting, he argued. Nicklaus agreed immediately. They changed it, making it a better golf hole.
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Now Thomas competes with his own creation. That psychological dimension adds unique stakes. He’ll face Fleetwood, Schauffele, and Bradley on a course he helped shape. The mental game becomes even more complex when you’re second-guessing your own design decisions.
But Couples made it clear: None of those credentials guarantees anything. The Skins Game writes its own rules. One inspired stretch can override an entire season’s worth of accomplishments. That’s precisely what makes this Black Friday showdown so compelling.