Davis Love III

Davis Love III
Personal information
Full name	Davis Milton Love III
Born	April 13, 1964 (1964-04-13) (age 47) Charlotte, North Carolina
Height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight	175 lb (79 kg; 12.5 st)
Nationality	United States
Residence	St. Simons Island, Georgia
Spouse	Robin Love
Children	Alexia, Davis IV
Career
College	University of North Carolina
Turned professional	1985
Current tour(s)	PGA Tour
Professional wins	34
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	20
Japan Golf Tour	1
Best results in Major Championships (Wins: 1)
Masters Tournament	2nd: 1995, 1999
U.S. Open	T2: 1996
The Open Championship	T4: 2003
PGA Championship	Won: 1997
Achievements and awards
Payne Stewart Award	2008

Davis Milton Love III (born April 13, 1964) is an American professional golfer.

Love was born in Charlotte, North Carolina. He attended the University of North Carolina before turning professional in 1985. He earned his PGA Tour card in the fall of 1985, on his first attempt. He quickly established himself on the PGA Tour, winning his first tour event in 1987. He was later to be in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Rankings for over 450 weeks and reached a high of third.^[1][2]

Love has won 20 events on the PGA Tour, including one major championship, the 1997 PGA Championship. He also won the prestigious Players Championship in 1992 and 2003. On November 9, 2008, he won his 20th career PGA Tour tournament, at the Children's Miracle Network Classic. This win gave him a lifetime exemption on the tour, at the age of 44. In 2011 he signed an endorsement deal with Bridgestone Golf.

In January 2011, Love was named the captain of the 2012 U.S. Ryder Cup team.^[3]

Background and family

Love was born to Davis M. Love Jr. and Helen Penta Burgin shortly after his father contended at the 1964 Masters. 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.

Love played ice hockey as a youth. As he stated, "I was a right wing, but I could skate backwards, so they made me a defenseman."

Love attended Glynn Academy in Brunswick, Georgia for high school. For college, he attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 1983 to 1985, where he was a three-time all-American and all-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) golfer. He won six titles during his collegiate career, including the ACC tournament championship in 1984.

Love won his first Tour title at the 1987 MCI Heritage Golf Classic, at Harbour Town Golf Links. He would later win this event four more times, setting a record for most victories in it. Love and Fred Couples won four straight times from 1992-1995 for the United States in the World Cup of Golf, a record for this event.

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 in South Carolina.

In 1997, Love published the book Every Shot I Take, which honors his father's lessons on life and golf. The book received the 1997 United States Golf Association's International Book Award.

His 1997 PGA Championship victory was the last major championship win achieved with a wooden-headed driver.

Also in 1997, Love 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.

Love and wife Robin have two children: Alexia and Davis IV. Alexia (Lexie) is a nationally-ranked rider of Paso Fino horses. She is currently a junior at the University of Georgia, where she is majoring in Recreation and Leisure Studies. The Love family has resided in St. Simons Island, Georgia, since the early 1990s.

Amateur wins (1)

• 1984 North and South Amateur

Professional wins (34)

PGA Tour wins (20)

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	-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	-15 (67-67-67-68=269)	4 strokes	Chip Beck
6	Apr 26, 1992	KMart Greater Greensboro Open	-12 (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)	2 strokes	Craig Stadler
9	Aug 28, 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	-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	-14 (72-67-67-68=274)	1 stroke	Tom Lehman
16	Mar 30, 2003	The Players Championship	-17 (70-67-70-64=271)	6 strokes	Jay Haas, Pádraig Harrington
17	Apr 20, 2003	MCI Heritage	-13 (66-69-69-67=271)	Playoff	Woody Austin
18	Aug 10, 2003	The International	46 points (19-17-5-5=46)	12 points	Retief Goosen, Vijay Singh
19	Oct 8, 2006	Chrysler Classic of Greensboro	-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

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 with birdie on second hole
8	2001	Buick Invitational	Frank Lickliter II, Phil Mickelson	Mickelson won with double bogey on third extra hole Love eliminated with par on second
9	2003	MCI Heritage	Woody Austin	Won with birdie on fourth extra hole

Japan Golf Tour wins (1)

• 1998 The Crowns

Other wins (13)

• 1990 JCPenney Classic (with Beth Daniel)
• 1992 Franklin Funds Shark Shootout (with Tom Kite), World Cup of Golf (with Fred Couples), Kapalua International
• 1993 World Cup of Golf (with Fred Couples)
• 1994 World Cup of Golf (with Fred Couples)
• 1995 World Cup of Golf (team with Fred Couples and individual title), JCPenney Classic (with Beth Daniel)
• 1996 Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge (with Fred Couples and Payne Stewart)
• 1997 Lincoln-Mercury Kapalua International
• 2000 CVS Charity Classic (with Justin Leonard), Williams World Challenge
• 2003 Target World Challenge

Major championships

Wins (1)

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

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

• Starts - 88
• Wins - 1
• 2nd place finishes - 3
• Top 3 finishes - 3
• Top 5 finishes - 7
• Top 10 finishes - 21
• Longest streak of top-10s - 3

Results in World Golf Championship events

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

• Complete through the 2011 season.

U.S. national team appearances

Amateur

• Walker Cup: 1985 (winners)

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
• Presidents Cup: 1994 (winners), 1996 (winners), 1998, 2000 (winners), 2003 (tie), 2005 (winners)

Legacy

• Has a portion of I-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."
• Davis Love holds the second longest ever officially recorded drive in competition play in history with a massive drive of 476 yards at the 2004 Mercedes Championships. His drive was 39 yards 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.

See also

• Golfers with most PGA Tour wins
• Most wins in one PGA Tour event

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Davis Love III

• Official website
• Davis Love III at the PGA Tour official site
• Davis Love III at the Japan Golf Tour official site
• Davis Love III at the Official World Golf Ranking official site

Davis Love III in the Ryder Cup v d e United States Ryder Cup team – 1993 Paul Azinger · Chip Beck · John Cook · Fred Couples · Raymond Floyd · Jim Gallagher, Jr. · Lee Janzen · Tom Kite · Davis Love III · Corey Pavin · Payne Stewart · Lanny Wadkins Tom Watson (non-playing captain) Won: 15 – 13 v d e United States Ryder Cup team – 1995 Fred Couples · Ben Crenshaw · Brad Faxon · Jay Haas · Peter Jacobsen · Tom Lehman · Davis Love III · Jeff Maggert · Phil Mickelson · Corey Pavin · Loren Roberts · Curtis Strange Lanny Wadkins (non-playing captain) Lost: 13.5 – 14.5 v d e United States Ryder Cup team – 1997 Fred Couples · Brad Faxon · Jim Furyk · Scott Hoch · Lee Janzen · Tom Lehman · Justin Leonard · Davis Love III · Jeff Maggert · Phil Mickelson · Mark O'Meara · Tiger Woods Tom Kite (non-playing captain) Lost: 13.5 – 14.5 v d e United States Ryder Cup team – 1999 David Duval · Jim Furyk · Tom Lehman · Justin Leonard · Davis Love III · Jeff Maggert · Phil Mickelson · Mark O'Meara · Steve Pate · Payne Stewart · Hal Sutton · Tiger Woods Ben Crenshaw (non-playing captain) Won: 14.5 – 13.5 v d e United States Ryder Cup team – 2002 Paul Azinger · Mark Calcavecchia · Stewart Cink · David Duval · Jim Furyk · Scott Hoch · Davis Love III · Phil Mickelson · Hal Sutton · David Toms · Scott Verplank · Tiger Woods Curtis Strange (non-playing captain) Lost: 12.5 – 15.5 v d e United States Ryder Cup team – 2004 Chad Campbell · Stewart Cink · Chris DiMarco · Fred Funk · Jim Furyk · Jay Haas · Davis Love III · Phil Mickelson · Kenny Perry · Chris Riley · David Toms · Tiger Woods Hal Sutton (non-playing captain) Lost: 9.5 – 18.5

Davis Love III in the Presidents Cup v d e United States Presidents Cup team – 1994 Fred Couples • Jim Gallagher, Jr. • Jay Haas • Scott Hoch • John Huston • Tom Lehman • Davis Love III • Jeff Maggert • Phil Mickelson • Corey Pavin • Loren Roberts Hale Irwin (non-playing captain) Won: 20 – 12 v d e United States Presidents Cup team – 1996 Mark Brooks • Fred Couples • David Duval • Scott Hoch • Tom Lehman • Justin Leonard • Davis Love III • Mark O'Meara • Phil Mickelson • Corey Pavin • Kenny Perry • Steve Stricker Arnold Palmer (non-playing captain) Won: 16.5 – 15.5 v d e United States Presidents Cup team – 1998 Mark Calcavecchia • Fred Couples • David Duval • Jim Furyk • Scott Hoch • John Huston • Lee Janzen • Justin Leonard • Davis Love III • Phil Mickelson • Mark O'Meara • Tiger Woods Jack Nicklaus (non-playing captain) Lost: 11.5 – 20.5 v d e United States Presidents Cup team – 2000 Paul Azinger • Notah Begay III • Stewart Cink • David Duval • Jim Furyk • Tom Lehman • Davis Love III • Phil Mickelson • Loren Roberts • Hal Sutton • Kirk Triplett • Tiger Woods Ken Venturi (non-playing captain) Won: 21.5 – 10.5 v d e United States Presidents Cup team – 2003 Chris DiMarco • Fred Funk • Jim Furyk • Jay Haas • Charles Howell III • Jerry Kelly • Justin Leonard • Davis Love III • Phil Mickelson • Kenny Perry • David Toms • Tiger Woods Jack Nicklaus (non-playing captain) Tied: 17 – 17 v d e United States Presidents Cup team – 2005 Stewart Cink • Fred Couples • Chris DiMarco • Fred Funk • Jim Furyk • Justin Leonard • Davis Love III • Phil Mickelson • Kenny Perry • David Toms • Scott Verplank • Tiger Woods Jack Nicklaus (non-playing captain) Won: 18.5 – 15.5