Davis Milton Love III (born April 13, 1964) is an American professional golfer who has won 21 events on the PGA Tour, including one major championship: the 1997 PGA Championship. He won the prestigious Players Championship in 1992 and 2003. He was in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking for over 450 weeks, reaching a high ranking of third.[1][2] He captained the U.S. Ryder Cup teams in 2012 and 2016.[3][4] Love was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame and will be inducted in September 2017.[5]
Background and family
Love was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, to Davis Love, Jr. and his wife, Helen, a day after his father competed in the final round at the 1964 Masters Tournament. His father, who was a former pro and nationally recognized golf instructor, introduced him to the game. His mother is also an avid low-handicap golfer. His father was killed in a 1988 plane crash.[6][7]
Love attended high school in Brunswick, Georgia, and graduated from its Glynn Academy in 1982. He played college golf at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, where he was a three-time All-American and all-Atlantic Coast Conference. He won six titles during his collegiate career, including the ACC tournament championship as a sophomore in 1984.[8]
Love turned professional in 1985, earning his PGA Tour card in the autumn of 1985, on his first attempt. He quickly established himself on the PGA Tour, winning his first tour event in 1987 at the MCI Heritage Golf Classic, at Harbour Town Golf Links. He would later win this event four more times, setting a record for the most victories in the tournament. Love and Fred Couples won four straight times from 1992–95 for the United States in the World Cup of Golf, a record for this event.
Love was a consistent contender and winner on the PGA Tour in the 1990s and early 2000s, but the most memorable win came at the 1997 PGA Championship, his only major championship victory. It was played at Winged Foot Golf Club near New York City, and just four players in the field finished under-par for the week. Love's winning score was 11-under-par, five strokes better than runner-up Justin Leonard. When Love sank his birdie putt on the final hole of the championship, it was under the arc of a rainbow, which appeared as he walked up to the 18th green. In the telecast, CBS Sports announcer Jim Nantz made the connection between the rainbow and Love's late father, Davis Love, Jr., who was a well-known and beloved figure in the golf world.[9][10]This victory was the last major championship win achieved with a wooden-headed driver.[11]
In 1994, Love founded Love Golf Design, a golf course architecture company, with his younger brother and caddie, Mark Love. The company has been responsible for the design of several courses throughout the southeast United States. Completed in 1997, Ocean Creek is his first signature course and is located on Fripp Island, South Carolina.[12] Love also designed the Dunes course at Diamante in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, which is ranked among Golf Magazine's Top 100 courses in the world.[13]
In 1997, Love published the book Every Shot I Take, which honors his father's lessons on life and golf, and it received the United States Golf Association's International Book Award.[14] That year, he developed and designed his own golf course in Harnett County, North Carolina. The course, Anderson Creek Club, won an award for "Best New Course in North Carolina" in 2001. He and his wife Robin have two children.[15]
On November 9, 2008, Love earned his 20th PGA Tour win at the Children's Miracle Network Classic, which gave him a lifetime exemption on Tour.
His victory in the 2015 Wyndham Championship—at age 51—made him the third oldest winner in PGA Tour history,[16] trailing only Sam Snead and Art Wall, Jr. The win made Love the oldest PGA Tour winner in the PGA Tour Champions era (since 1980). It also brought Love into select company in another PGA Tour distinction: he became only the third player to win on the tour in four different decades, joining Snead and Raymond Floyd.
After failing to qualify for the FedEx Cup in 2014, Love made his Champions Tour debut at the Pacific Links Hawaii Championship.
Love is the tournament host of the RSM Classic. In 2015, son Davis IV (better known as Dru) earned a sponsor exemption into the event, but missed the cut.
Legacy
- Has a portion of Interstate 95 named after him. In 1998, the segment of I-95 which extends in Georgia from the McIntosh County line to Highway 341 at exit 7A and B was designated the "Davis Love III Highway."
- Love hit the second-longest drive ever officially recorded in competition play at the Mercedes Championships in 2004. His 476-yard (435 m) drive was still 39 yards (36 m) short of Mike Austin's record.
- He also has a restaurant named after him in his hometown of Sea Island, Georgia, called the Davis Love Grill.
Amateur wins (2)
Professional wins (37)
PGA Tour wins (21)
| Legend |
| Major championships (1) |
| Players Championships (2) |
| Other PGA Tour (18) |
| No. |
Date |
Tournament |
Winning score |
Margin of
victory |
Runner(s)-up |
|---|
| 1 |
Apr 19, 1987 |
MCI Heritage Golf Classic |
−13 (70-67-67-67=271) |
1 stroke |
 Steve Jones |
| 2 |
Aug 19, 1990 |
The International |
14 points (8-0-15-14) |
3 points |
Steve Pate,  Eduardo Romero,
 Peter Senior |
| 3 |
Apr 21, 1991 |
MCI Heritage Golf Classic (2) |
−13 (65-68-68-70=271) |
2 strokes |
Ian Baker-Finch |
| 4 |
Mar 29, 1992 |
The Players Championship |
−15 (67-68-71-67=273) |
4 strokes |
Ian Baker-Finch, Phil Blackmar,
 Nick Faldo, Tom Watson |
| 5 |
Apr 19, 1992 |
MCI Heritage Golf Classic (3) |
−15 (67-67-67-68=269) |
4 strokes |
Chip Beck |
| 6 |
Apr 26, 1992 |
KMart Greater Greensboro Open |
−16 (71-68-71-62=272) |
6 strokes |
John Cook |
| 7 |
Jan 10, 1993 |
Infiniti Tournament of Champions |
−16 (67-67-69-69=272) |
1 stroke |
Tom Kite |
| 8 |
Oct 24, 1993 |
Las Vegas Invitational |
−29 (67-66-67-65-66=331) |
8 strokes |
Craig Stadler |
| 9 |
Apr 2, 1995 |
Freeport-McMoRan Classic |
−14 (68-69-66-71=274) |
Playoff |
Mike Heinen |
| 10 |
Feb 11, 1996 |
Buick Invitational |
−19 (66-70-69-64=269) |
2 strokes |
Phil Mickelson |
| 11 |
Aug 17, 1997 |
PGA Championship |
−11 (66-71-66-66=269) |
5 strokes |
Justin Leonard |
| 12 |
Oct 5, 1997 |
Buick Challenge |
−21 (67-65-67-68=267) |
4 strokes |
Stewart Cink |
| 13 |
Apr 19, 1998 |
MCI Classic (4) |
−18 (67-68-66-65=266) |
7 strokes |
Glen Day |
| 14 |
Feb 4, 2001 |
AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am |
−16 (71-69-69-63=272) |
1 stroke |
 Vijay Singh |
| 15 |
Feb 9, 2003 |
AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am (2) |
−14 (72-67-67-68=274) |
1 stroke |
Tom Lehman |
| 16 |
Mar 30, 2003 |
The Players Championship (2) |
−17 (70-67-70-64=271) |
6 strokes |
Jay Haas,  Pádraig Harrington |
| 17 |
Apr 20, 2003 |
MCI Heritage (5) |
−13 (66-69-69-67=271) |
Playoff |
Woody Austin |
| 18 |
Aug 10, 2003 |
The International (2) |
46 points (19-17-5-5=46) |
12 points |
 Retief Goosen, Vijay Singh |
| 19 |
Oct 8, 2006 |
Chrysler Classic of Greensboro (2) |
−16 (69-69-68-66=272) |
2 strokes |
Jason Bohn |
| 20 |
Nov 9, 2008 |
Children's Miracle Network Classic |
−25 (66-69-64-64=263) |
1 stroke |
Tommy Gainey |
| 21 |
Aug 23, 2015 |
Wyndham Championship (3) |
−17 (64-66-69-64=263) |
1 stroke |
Jason Gore |
PGA Tour playoff record (2–7)
Japan Golf Tour wins (1)
Other wins (15)
Major championships
Wins (1)
Results timeline
DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.
Summary
- Most consecutive cuts made – 8 (2001 U.S. Open – 2003 Masters)
- Longest streak of top-10s – 3 (1998 Open Championship – 1999 Masters)
Results in World Golf Championship events
| Tournament | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 |
|---|
| Match Play |
R64 |
4 |
DNP |
R32 |
R32 |
2 |
R16 |
2 |
R64 |
DNP |
R32 |
DNP |
DNP |
DNP |
DNP |
DNP |
DNP |
DNP |
| Cadillac Championship |
T16 |
DNP |
NT1 |
8 |
T40 |
T41 |
T11 |
DNP |
WD |
DNP |
T28 |
DNP |
DNP |
DNP |
DNP |
DNP |
DNP |
DNP |
| Bridgestone Invitational |
T10 |
35 |
T5 |
T11 |
3 |
T4 |
T13 |
T4 |
T6 |
DNP |
T19 |
DNP |
DNP |
DNP |
DNP |
DNP |
DNP |
WD |
| HSBC Champions |
– |
– |
– |
– |
– |
– |
– |
– |
– |
– |
DNP |
DNP |
DNP |
DNP |
DNP |
DNP |
DNP |
DNP |
1Cancelled due to 9/11
DNP = Did not play
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = Tied
WD = Withdrew
NT = No tournament
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.
Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.
PGA Tour career summary
| Season | Wins (majors) | Earnings ($) | Rank |
|---|
| 1985 | 0 | 0 | - |
| 1986 | 0 | 113,245 | 77 |
| 1987 | 1 | 297,378 | 33 |
| 1988 | 0 | 156,068 | 75 |
| 1989 | 0 | 278,760 | 44 |
| 1990 | 1 | 537,172 | 20 |
| 1991 | 1 | 686,361 | 8 |
| 1992 | 3 | 1,191,630 | 2 |
| 1993 | 2 | 777,059 | 12 |
| 1994 | 0 | 474,219 | 33 |
| 1995 | 1 | 1,111,999 | 6 |
| 1996 | 1 | 1,211,139 | 7 |
| 1997 | 2 (1) | 1,635,953 | 3 |
| 1998 | 1 | 1,541,152 | 11 |
| 1999 | 0 | 2,475,328 | 3 |
| 2000 | 0 | 2,337,765 | 9 |
| 2001 | 1 | 3,169,463 | 5 |
| 2002 | 0 | 2,056,160 | 21 |
| 2003 | 4 | 6,081,896 | 3 |
| 2004 | 0 | 3,075,092 | 10 |
| 2005 | 0 | 2,658,779 | 13 |
| 2006 | 1 | 2,747,206 | 16 |
| 2007 | 0 | 1,016,489 | 96 |
| 2008 | 1 | 1,695,237 | 48 |
| 2009 | 0 | 1,622,401 | 52 |
| 2010 | 0 | 1,214,472 | 73 |
| 2011 | 0 | 1,056,300 | 88 |
| 2012 | 0 | 989,753 | 100 |
| 2013 | 0 | 303,470 | 165 |
| 2014 | 0 | 284,800 | 173 |
| 2015 | 1 | 1,263,596 | 75 |
| 2016 | 0 | 222,422 | 189 |
| Career* | 21 (1) | 44,282,764 | 7 |
*As of the 2015–16 season.
U.S. national team appearances
Amateur
Professional
- Dunhill Cup: 1992
- World Cup of Golf: 1992 (winners), 1993 (winners), 1994 (winners), 1995 (winners), 1997
- Ryder Cup: 1993 (winners), 1995, 1997, 1999 (winners), 2002, 2004, 2012 (non-playing captain), 2016 (non-playing captain, winners)
- Presidents Cup: 1994 (winners), 1996 (winners), 1998, 2000 (winners), 2003 (tie), 2005 (winners)
See also
References
- ↑ "Official World Golf Ranking, Week 36, 2003" (PDF). OWGR. September 7, 2003. Retrieved June 20, 2012.
- ↑ "69 Players Who Have Reached The Top-10 In World Ranking" (PDF). OWGR. Retrieved June 20, 2012.
- ↑ Auclair, T.J. "PGA picks Love III to lead Team USA". PGA of America. Retrieved June 20, 2012.
- ↑ Harig, Bob (February 24, 2015). "Davis Love III named Ryder captain". ESPN.
- ↑ "Love III gets Hall of Fame call: Woosnam, Mallon, Ochoa, Longhurst also included in Class of 2017". PGA Tour. October 18, 2016.
- ↑ "Crash claims four". Bryan Times. Ohio. UPI. November 14, 1988. p. 14.
- ↑ Fields, Bill (November 3, 2008). "Lost In The Fog". Golf Digest.
- ↑ "2011–12 Tarheel Men's Golf". p. 36. Retrieved June 20, 2012.
- ↑ Auclair, T.J. (August 9, 2012). "A Quick Nine: Greatest PGA Championship moments". PGA of America.
- ↑ Verdi, Bob (June 12, 2006). "Davis Love III makes the rainbow connection". ESPN.
- ↑ Bonk, Thomas (June 12, 2006). "He's Set for a Major Return". Los Angeles Times.
- ↑ "Love Golf Design". Retrieved June 20, 2012.
- ↑ "Golf Magazine's Top 100 Courses in the World". Golf.com. Retrieved April 18, 2014.
- ↑ "United States Golf Association's International Book Award 1987–-2002".
- ↑ "The Davis Love III File". PGA of America. Archived from the original on March 27, 2012. Retrieved June 20, 2012.
- ↑ McCreary, Joedy. "Wyndham: Love Wins, Tiger's season ends". PGA. Associated Press. Retrieved August 23, 2015.
External links
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Jesper Parnevik