Fred Couples chips to the green on the 10th hole during the first round of the Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club, Thursday, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Fred Couples is playing the Masters for the 41st time, and he can’t remember ever hitting into the water on the par-5 15th with a wedge in his hand — twice in a row.

It wrecked the surprisingly great round of the 1992 Masters champion — a quadruple-bogey 9 on what traditionally is the third-easiest hole at Augusta National. And this had nothing to do with the age of the 66-year-old Couples.

Robert MacIntyre also put two in the drink and made a 9. So did another former Masters champion, Danny Willett.

It was the first time since at least three scores of 9 were recorded on one hole at the Masters since 1998, when there were three quadruple bogeys on the 15th hole in the second round.

“I laid up perfect. I had 90 yards so I had to carry it 85 (yards) and 5 (yards),” Couples said. “Sometimes when you don’t try and hit a good shot you forget what the hell you’re doing. I have no excuse. I just didn’t hit them far enough.”

MacIntyre, the 29-year-old Scot, went for the green in two and came up well short, and he knew it when he hit it. His next with a wedge came up short. His sixth shot went over the green, and he chipped on and took two putts.

Willett, the 38-year-old from England who won the Masters in 2016, was way left off the tee, pitched back to the fairway and put two wedges in the water short of the green. He finally got on the green and two-putted from about 12 feet.

There also were four double bogeys. It added to a scoring average over 5.121 for the day, making it the only par 5 to play over par.

LIV players hoping not to leave after Friday

Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm are the top two players from LIV Golf, both expected to contend at the Masters. Their primary objective now is not to leave.

Rahm hit a shocker of an 8-iron that turned an easy birdie chance into a double bogey on the par-5 13th hole. The rest of his day wasn’t all that great to begin with, and the two-time major champion wound up with a 78.

“It’s going to be a very much more uphill battle right now, but I’m going to have to come out (Friday) and most likely post something in the 60s to have a chance to make the cut and give myself a chance on the weekend,” Rahm said.

DeChambeau took three to get out of a bunker on the par-4 11th and took triple bogey. He shot 76.

But it wasn’t just them. LIV Golf has 10 players in the field, and none broke par. Sergio Garcia was the only player at even-par 72, while Carlos Ortiz brought up the rear with an 80. The average score of the 10 players from LIV was 75.3.

Fred Couples was on the leaderboard at 2-under par, right in the mix with stars more than half his age, when the 66-year-old Masters champion started slipping toward the end.

And then his round completely unraveled.

After his 9 on the 15th, Couples’ tee shot on No. 16 also rolled into the water, and he made double bogeys on that hole and the 17th.

“Just have to go do the same thing but maybe not finish 10 over par on two holes or whatever the hell I did,” he said after signing for a 78.