SAMMAMISH, Wash. — Wherever Fred Couples went Tuesday, hundreds of golf fans followed.

The reception for Couples at Sahalee Country Club, site of this week’s U.S. Senior Open, was the kind usually reserved for the return of conquering heroes. Which the 15-time PGA Tour winner is of sorts.

On Tuesday, Couples confirmed that he will be playing in the Jeld-Wen Tradition, which will be held at August 19-22 at Sunriver Resort’s Crosswater Club.

For Couples, who now lives in Southern California, the U.S. Senior Open is the first tournament in a long stretch of golf in which he gets to stay in the Pacific Northwest. After the U.S. Senior Open, which tees off Thursday, and The Tradition, the Champions Tour will return to the Seattle area for the Boeing Classic. And the popular and affable Couples, who was born in Seattle, is happy to be home.

“When they said that the U.S. Senior Open was going to be at Sahalee, that was pretty exciting,” Couples said after his practice round on a sunny and warm day at the course just east of Seattle. “In Oregon, I played the Fred Meyer Challenge (a charity golf tournament held in the Portland area in the 1980s and 90s), which was like playing a tour event but with not many pros. So it’s a thrill (to back in the Northwest),” he said.

Couples has played Crosswater before, in a made-for-TV event in 1999 against fellow PGA Tour star John Daly.

Couples, nicknamed “Boom Boom,” is best known for winning the 1992 Masters and being one of the top golfers on the PGA Tour for much of the 1990s.

And this year he has seen a resurgence in his golf game, including at the 2010 Masters, where he finished in sixth place.

But Couples has been a major story this year on the Champions Tour, pro golf’s over-50 circuit. The Champions Tour rookie won three of his first four senior-circuit tournaments, and has two second-place finishes.

His schedule has slowed down since his quick start, but he is hoping that he has enough gas left in the tank for the two major championships played this year in the Northwest.

“My goal was to come out and win and get the feeling of what that was like,” said Couples, who last won on the PGA Tour in 2003. “And I’ve done that three times, which was phenomenal.

“But I haven’t shot those scores in a while. The courses are getting tougher and I am not playing anywhere like I was. And I need to get that back.”

Evan Byers, the tournament director for the Tradition, was at Sahalee Tuesday trying to secure commitments and make sure the pros’ travel arrangements were set.

But Byers was noticeably excited about nabbing Couples.

“Freddy now committing to the tournament, along with Nick Price committing to the tournament, it adds a lot to the tournament in a lot of different ways,” Byers said. “It adds a lot to the sponsors and their guests who come out and attend the event. And it adds an awful lot to the community and the fans.

“(Couples) is such a popular guy and such a good guy, having Northwest ties, he is a fan favorite.”

Couples has not been the only big name to commit this week to The Tradition, Byers said.

In addition to Couples, Corey Pavin, the 1995 U.S. Open champion and a Champions Tour rookie, and two-time Masters champion Ben Crenshaw have also told Byers they will be in Central Oregon next month, Byers said.

One big-name golfer who won’t be at Crosswater is Kenny Perry, who turns 50 in August but will stick to the PGA Tour for the remainder of this year, Byers said.

Golfers who have committed to The Tradition include eight-time PGA Tour winner Tom Watson, two-time Masters champ Bernhard Langer, and three-time major winner Nick Price, who is planning on making his first trip to Sunriver.

Price, though, pulled out of the U.S. Senior Open this week because of a toe injury.

Whether Price plays or not, the addition of rookies Couples, Pavin, and 1989 British Open champion Mark Calcavecchia to the usually star-loaded Tradition bodes well for this year’s tournament, Byers said.

“Having Fred, Corey, Nick, Tom Watson, Hale Irwin, Peter (Jacobsen, an Oregon native), John Cook, the community and the state of Oregon will have a collection of the most recognizable professional golfers,” Byers said. “Together, (they are more big names) than in any other tournament in the world (that week).”

The Fred Couples file

• He has 15 career PGA Tour victories, including the Masters in 1992. He played in the Masters this year and finished in sixth place.

• In 2010, his first year on the Champions Tour, Couples already has three victories. He leads the Champions Tour in total money earned this year.

• Couples was the captain of the U.S. team in last year’s Presidents Cup matches against an international team. The U.S. won the Cup.

The Tradition

The Jeld-Wen Tradition is a major tournament on the Champions Tour, which includes over-50 pro golfers, held August 19-22 at Sunriver’s Crosswater Club.