Wikipedia

Davis Love III

(Redirected from Davis Love)
"Davis Love" redirects here. For his father, who was also a golfer, see Davis Love Jr.

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 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 2nd.[2][3] He captained the U.S. Ryder Cup teams in 2012 and 2016.[4][5] Love was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2017.[6]

Davis Love III
Love in 2007
Personal information
Full nameDavis Milton Love III
Born (1964-04-13) April 13, 1964 (age 60)
Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.
Height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight175 lb (79 kg; 12.5 st)
Sporting nationality United States
ResidenceSt. Simons Island, Georgia, U.S.
SpouseRobin Love
ChildrenAlexia, Davis IV
Career
CollegeNorth Carolina
Turned professional1985
Current tour(s)PGA Tour
PGA Tour Champions
Professional wins37
Highest ranking2 (July 19, 1998)[1]
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour21
European Tour1
Japan Golf Tour1
Other15
Best results in major championships
(wins: 1)
Masters Tournament2nd: 1995, 1999
PGA ChampionshipWon: 1997
U.S. OpenT2: 1996
The Open ChampionshipT4: 2003
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame2017 (member page)
Payne Stewart Award2008
Bob Jones Award2013

Early life

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Davis Milton Love III was born on April 13, 1964, 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.[7][8]

Love attended high school in Brunswick, Georgia, and graduated from its Glynn Academy in 1982.

Amateur career

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Love 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.[9]

Professional career

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In 1985, Love turned professional. He earned his PGA Tour card late in the season at 1985 PGA Tour Qualifying School. It was his first attempt at PGA Tour Qualifying school 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.

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.[10] 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.[11]

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.[12][13] This victory was the last major championship win achieved with a wooden-headed driver.[14]

Love has had success late in his regular career. 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.

Senior career

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After failing to qualify for the FedEx Cup in 2014, Love made his Champions Tour debut at the Pacific Links Hawaii Championship.

Love's victory in the 2015 Wyndham Championship—at age 51—made him the third-oldest winner in PGA Tour history,[15] 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.

Love's son Davis Love IV (better known as Dru Love) is also a professional golfer. Love has worked with his son at a number of tournaments. In 2015, his son earned a sponsor exemption into the RSM Classic while still an amateur; Love III serves as the host. After Love failed to qualify for the 2017 U.S. Open, he caddied for Dru, who made his professional debut. On December 16, 2018, Love and his son Dru won the Father/Son Challenge at Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Orlando, Florida.[16]

Love has served as the captain of several national teams as a senior. In 2012, he was the captain of the American Ryder Cup team. Four years later, he was captain of the 2016 Ryder Cup. Six year later, Love captained the U.S. team to victory in the 2022 Presidents Cup.[17]

For the 2020 PGA Tour season, Love joined CBS as a full-time analyst.[18] In July 2020, Love announced that he was leaving his role with CBS in order to "focus on my family, play a few tournaments, and bring some stability back in a difficult year."[19]

Personal life

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He and his wife Robin have two children.[20] On March 27, 2020, Love's home in St. Simons Island, Georgia, was destroyed in a fire. Love and his wife escaped without injury.[21]

Love is a Republican, and has donated money to Johnny Isakson and George W. Bush.[22]

Awards and honors

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Amateur wins

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Professional wins (37)

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PGA Tour wins (21)

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Legend
Major championships (1)
Players Championships (2)
Other PGA Tour (18)
No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory 		Runner(s)-up
1 Apr 19, 1987 MCI Heritage Golf Classic 70-67-67-67=271 −13 1 stroke   Steve Jones
2 Aug 19, 1990 The International 14 pts (8-0-15-14=14) 3 points   Steve Pate,   Eduardo Romero,
  Peter Senior
3 Apr 21, 1991 MCI Heritage Golf Classic (2) 65-68-68-70=271 −13 2 strokes   Ian Baker-Finch
4 Mar 29, 1992 The Players Championship 67-68-71-67=273 −15 4 strokes   Ian Baker-Finch,   Phil Blackmar,
  Nick Faldo,   Tom Watson
5 Apr 19, 1992 MCI Heritage Golf Classic (3) 67-67-68-67=269 −15 4 strokes   Chip Beck
6 Apr 26, 1992 KMart Greater Greensboro Open 71-68-71-62=272 −16 6 strokes   John Cook
7 Jan 10, 1993 Infiniti Tournament of Champions 67-67-69-69=272 −16 1 stroke   Tom Kite
8 Oct 24, 1993 Las Vegas Invitational 67-66-67-65-66=331 −29 8 strokes   Craig Stadler
9 Apr 2, 1995 Freeport-McMoRan Classic 68-69-66-71=274 −14 Playoff   Mike Heinen
10 Feb 11, 1996 Buick Invitational 66-70-69-64=269 −19 2 strokes   Phil Mickelson
11 Aug 17, 1997 PGA Championship 66-71-66-66=269 −11 5 strokes   Justin Leonard
12 Oct 5, 1997 Buick Challenge 67-65-67-68=267 −21 4 strokes   Stewart Cink
13 Apr 19, 1998 MCI Classic (4) 67-68-66-65=266 −18 7 strokes   Glen Day
14 Feb 4, 2001 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am 71-69-69-63=272 −16 1 stroke   Vijay Singh
15 Feb 9, 2003 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am (2) 72-67-67-68=274 −14 1 stroke   Tom Lehman
16 Mar 30, 2003 The Players Championship (2) 70-67-70-64=271 −17 6 strokes   Jay Haas,   Pádraig Harrington
17 Apr 20, 2003 MCI Heritage (5) 66-69-69-67=271 −13 Playoff   Woody Austin
18 Aug 10, 2003 The International (2) 46 pts (19-17-5-5=46) 12 points   Retief Goosen,   Vijay Singh
19 Oct 8, 2006 Chrysler Classic of Greensboro (2) 69-69-68-66=272 −16 2 strokes   Jason Bohn
20 Nov 9, 2008 Children's Miracle Network Classic 66-69-64-64=263 −25 1 stroke   Tommy Gainey
21 Aug 23, 2015 Wyndham Championship (3) 64-66-69-64=263 −17 1 stroke   Jason Gore

PGA Tour playoff record (2–7)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1989 Nestle Invitational   Tom Kite Lost to par on second extra hole
2 1991 NEC World Series of Golf   Jim Gallagher Jr.,   Tom Purtzer Purtzer won with par on second extra hole
3 1992 Nissan Los Angeles Open   Fred Couples Lost to birdie on second extra hole
4 1995 Freeport-McMoRan Classic   Mike Heinen Won with birdie on second extra hole
5 1996 Buick Challenge   Michael Bradley,   Fred Funk,
  John Maginnes,   Len Mattiace 		Bradley won with birdie on first extra hole
6 1996 Las Vegas Invitational   Tiger Woods Lost to par on first extra hole
7 2000 GTE Byron Nelson Classic   Phil Mickelson,   Jesper Parnevik Parnevik won with par on third extra hole
Mickelson eliminated by birdie on second hole
8 2001 Buick Invitational   Frank Lickliter,   Phil Mickelson Mickelson won with double-bogey on third extra hole
Love eliminated by par on second hole
9 2003 MCI Heritage   Woody Austin Won with birdie on fourth extra hole

PGA of Japan Tour wins (1)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory 		Runners-up
1 May 3, 1998 The Crowns 64-71-67-67=269 −11 8 strokes   Rick Gibson,   Masanobu Kimura,
  Brian Watts

Other wins (15)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory 		Runner(s)-up
1 Dec 2, 1990 JCPenney Classic
(with   Beth Daniel) 		67-70-62-67=266 −12 5 strokes   Jay Haas and   Nancy Lopez
2 Nov 8, 1992 World Cup
(with   Fred Couples) 		134-139-140-135=548 −28 1 stroke   Sweden − Anders Forsbrand and Per-Ulrik Johansson
3 Nov 15, 1992 Kapalua International 65-71-72-67=275 −17 1 stroke   Mike Hulbert
4 Nov 22, 1992 Franklin Funds Shark Shootout
(with   Tom Kite) 		65-69-59=191 −25 1 stroke   Billy Ray Brown and   Nick Price,
  Fred Couples and   Raymond Floyd,
  Hale Irwin and   Bruce Lietzke
5 Nov 14, 1993 World Cup of Golf (2)
(with   Fred Couples) 		137-140-141-138=556 −20 5 strokes   Zimbabwe − Mark McNulty and Nick Price
6 Nov 13, 1994 World Cup of Golf (3)
(with   Fred Couples) 		132-129-137-138=536 −40 14 strokes   Zimbabwe − Tony Johnstone and Mark McNulty
7 Nov 12, 1995 World Cup of Golf (4)
(with   Fred Couples) 		133-136-138-136=543 −33 14 strokes   Australia − Robert Allenby and Brett Ogle
8 Nov 12, 1995 World Cup of Golf Individual Trophy 65-67-68-67=267 −21 Playoff   Hisayuki Sasaki
9 Dec 3, 1995 JCPenney Classic (2)
(with   Beth Daniel) 		66-65-63-63=257 −27 2 strokes   Helen Alfredsson and   Robert Gamez
10 Nov 9, 1997 Lincoln-Mercury Kapalua International (2) 67-66-67-68=268 −20 4 strokes   Olin Browne,   David Toms
11 Jul 11, 2000 CVS Charity Classic
(with   Justin Leonard) 		60-66=126 −16 3 strokes   Steve Elkington and   Craig Stadler
12 Dec 3, 2000 Williams World Challenge 67-64-71-64=266 −22 2 strokes   Tiger Woods
13 Dec 14, 2003 Target World Challenge (2) 70-72-63-72=277 −11 2 strokes   Tiger Woods
14 Dec 16, 2012 PNC Father-Son Challenge
(with son Dru Love) 		60-61=121 −23 1 stroke   Larry Nelson and son Josh Nelson
15 Dec 16, 2018 PNC Father-Son Challenge (2)
(with son Dru Love) 		62-56=118 −26 3 strokes   Stewart Cink and son Connor Cink,
  John Daly and son John Daly II,
  Retief Goosen and son Leo Goosen

Other playoff record (1–3)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1991 Isuzu Kapalua International   Mike Hulbert Lost to birdie on first extra hole
2 1995 World Cup of Golf Individual Trophy   Hisayuki Sasaki Won with par on fifth extra hole
3 2008 CVS Caremark Charity Classic
(with   Billy Andrade) 		  Paul Goydos and   Tim Herron,
  Rocco Mediate and   Brandt Snedeker,
  Camilo Villegas and   Bubba Watson 		Villegas/Watson won by 1 stroke in three-hole aggregate playoff
4 2015 PNC Father-Son Challenge   Fred Funk and son Taylor Funk,
  Larry Nelson and son Drew Nelson,
  Lanny Wadkins and son Tucker Wadkins 		Team Wadkins won with eagle on first extra hole

Major championships

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Wins (1)

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Year Championship 54 holes Winning score Margin Runner-up
1997 PGA Championship Tied for lead −11 (66-71-66-66=269) 5 strokes   Justin Leonard

Results timeline

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Results not in chronological order in 2020.

Tournament 1986 1987 1988 1989
Masters Tournament CUT
U.S. Open CUT T33
The Open Championship CUT CUT T23
PGA Championship T47 CUT T17
Tournament 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
Masters Tournament T42 T25 T54 CUT 2 T7 T7 T33 2
U.S. Open T11 T60 T33 T28 T4 T2 T16 CUT T12
The Open Championship CUT T44 CUT CUT T38 T98 CUT T10 8 T7
PGA Championship T40 T32 T33 T31 CUT CUT CUT 1 T7 T49
Tournament 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Masters Tournament T7 CUT T14 T15 T6 CUT T22 T27
U.S. Open CUT T7 T24 CUT CUT T6 CUT CUT T53
The Open Championship T11 T21 T14 T4 T5 CUT CUT CUT T19 T27
PGA Championship T9 T37 T48 CUT CUT T4 T34 CUT CUT CUT
Tournament 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Masters Tournament CUT T42
U.S. Open T6 T11 T29
The Open Championship CUT T9 CUT
PGA Championship T55 T72 CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT
Tournament 2019 2020
Masters Tournament
PGA Championship CUT
U.S. Open
The Open Championship NT
  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

Summary

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Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 2 0 2 6 10 20 15
U.S. Open 0 1 0 2 5 10 23 16
The Open Championship 0 0 0 2 6 11 26 15
PGA Championship 1 0 0 2 4 5 32 16
Totals 1 3 0 8 21 36 101 62
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 8 (2001 U.S. Open – 2003 Masters)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 3 (1998 Open Championship – 1999 Masters)

The Players Championship

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Wins (2)

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Year Championship 54 holes Winning score Margin Runners-up
1992 The Players Championship 3 shot deficit −15 (67-68-71-67=273) 4 strokes   Ian Baker-Finch,   Phil Blackmar,
  Nick Faldo,   Tom Watson
2003 The Players Championship (2) 2 shot deficit −17 (70-67-70-64=271) 6 strokes   Jay Haas,   Pádraig Harrington

Results timeline

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Tournament 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
The Players Championship T14 CUT DQ CUT T24 CUT 1 T67 T6 T6 T46 DQ T57 T10
Tournament 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
The Players Championship T48 CUT CUT 1 T33 T8 CUT T75 T54 CUT T4 T12 CUT T48 CUT
  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
DQ = disqualified
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Results in World Golf Championships

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Results not in chronological order before 2015.

Tournament 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Championship T16 NT1 8 T40 T41 T11 WD T28
Match Play R64 4 R32 R32 2 R16 2 R64 R32
Invitational T10 35 T5 T11 3 T4 T13 T4 T6 T19 WD
Champions

1Cancelled due to 9/11

  Top 10
  Did not play

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = Tied
WD = Withdrew
NT = No tournament
Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.

PGA Tour career summary

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Season Wins (majors) Earnings ($) Rank[24]
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
2017 0 257,270 187
2018 0 97,920 209
2019 0 271,216 193
2020 0 35,025 228
2021 0 0 -
Career* 21 (1) 44,944,195 16[25]

*As of the 2021 season.

U.S. national team appearances

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Amateur

Professional

Bibliography

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  • Every Shot I Take, 1997, ISBN-10 0684834006[26]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Week 29 1998 Ending 19 Jul 1998" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
  2. ^ "Official World Golf Ranking, "July 19 1998"" (PDF). OWGR. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 10, 2017. Retrieved June 20, 2012.
  3. ^ "69 Players Who Have Reached The Top-10 In World Ranking". OWGR. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 17, 2015. Retrieved June 20, 2012.
  4. ^ Auclair, T.J. "PGA picks Love III to lead Team USA". PGA of America. Archived from the original on March 14, 2012. Retrieved June 20, 2012.
  5. ^ Harig, Bob (February 24, 2015). "Davis Love III named Ryder captain". ESPN.
  6. ^ "Love III gets Hall of Fame call: Woosnam, Mallon, Ochoa, Longhurst also included in Class of 2017". PGA Tour. October 18, 2016.
  7. ^ "Crash claims four". Bryan Times. Ohio. UPI. November 14, 1988. p. 14.
  8. ^ Fields, Bill (November 3, 2008). "Lost In The Fog". Golf Digest.
  9. ^ "2011–12 Tarheel Men's Golf". p. 36. Retrieved June 20, 2012.
  10. ^ "Love Golf Design". Archived from the original on February 14, 2012. Retrieved June 20, 2012.
  11. ^ "Golf Magazine's Top 100 Courses in the World". Golf.com. Retrieved April 18, 2014.
  12. ^ Auclair, T.J. (August 9, 2012). "A Quick Nine: Greatest PGA Championship moments". PGA of America.
  13. ^ Verdi, Bob (June 12, 2006). "Davis Love III makes the rainbow connection". ESPN.
  14. ^ Bonk, Thomas (June 12, 2006). "He's Set for a Major Return". Los Angeles Times.
  15. ^ McCreary, Joedy. "Wyndham: Love Wins, Tiger's season ends". PGA. Associated Press. Retrieved August 23, 2015.
  16. ^ Strege, John (December 16, 2018). "Davis Love III and son Dru shoot 56 to win PNC Father Son Challenge by three". Golf Digest. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
  17. ^ Beall, Joel (September 25, 2022). "Presidents Cup 2022: Our grades for all 24 players, from an A+ for Spieth to an F for Scheffler". Golf Digest. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  18. ^ "CBS Sports Announces Additional Roster Moves For 2020 Golf Season". ViacomCBS. December 3, 2019.
  19. ^ Cunningham, Kevin (July 29, 2020). "Davis Love III leaves CBS Sports golf broadcast team after less than a year on the job". Golf.com.
  20. ^ "The Davis Love III File". PGA of America. Archived from the original on March 27, 2012. Retrieved June 20, 2012.
  21. ^ Elassar, Alaa (March 27, 2020). "The home of golfer Davis Love III was destroyed by a fire". CNN.
  22. ^ "Bearing gifts, Republican golfers meet with Obama". June 20, 2011.
  23. ^ "United States Golf Association's International Book Award 1987–-2002". Archived from the original on October 28, 2012.
  24. ^ "Official Money". PGA Tour. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  25. ^ "Career Money Leaders". PGA Tour. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  26. ^ Love III, Davis. "Every Shot I Take". Amazon.com.
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