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PGA CHAMPIONSHIPAugust 10, 2011Davis Love IIIJOHNS CREEK, GEORGIA KELLY ELBIN: 1997 PGA Champion and 2012 U.S. Ryder Cup Captain, Davis Love III, who is competing in his 25th PGA Championship, joining us at the 93rd PGA Championship at Atlanta Athletic Club. Davis, welcome back. You had a tie for 11th at the U.S. Open, a tie for 9th at The Open Championship, would indicate your game is in fairly good order coming into this season's final major. DAVIS LOVE III: Yeah, I had a couple good majors, and I hit the ball real well, really since Memorial. So, excited about the way I'm playing, excited about this course. It's definitely long and hard, so that is a course that would suit my game. So I'm excited about this week and looking forward to it. KELLY ELBIN: The Ryder Cup is still a year out, a year-plus out; how are you balancing your duties as the captain with being as good a competitor as you can be? DAVIS LOVE III: Well, I thought I would get really busy with The Ryder Cup next year, but I was wrong. Very busy this year (chuckling) and I assume it will get busier next year. But it's been a lot of fun. It's been a new challenge. I've certainly been able, so far, to balance playing golf and my family and everything else that I do with The Ryder Cup. I know we are going to have a busy couple months here with some decisions to get made before the end of the year on The Ryder Cup, and then our own tournament at Sea Island, the McGladrey. So we are going to have a busy couple months. You know, I don't really have to watch golf or be too concerned about what guys are doing on the golf course right now. That's Freddie's concern with The Presidents Cup. It's more getting to know some of the younger players and really keeping my foot more in the game. I don't watch a whole lot of golf, so I'm trying to watch a little more golf just to get to know who some of the younger players are, like getting to know Gary Woodland is probably a good idea and guys of that caliber that I don't really know that are the young guys on Tour. I was lucky enough to know Rickie Fowler before we got to Wales. I don't want somebody to pop in next year that I don't really know well. So it's pretty easy obviously just hanging around the young American guys, but it's good for me; it motivates me to play more practice rounds with different people and stuff like that, so that's fun. Q. Do you find it at all hard to believe that this is your 25th PGA Championship, and what's it like to come back to a major that you've won before? DAVIS LOVE III: Yeah, I'm not good at counting how many years in a row I've played. I think I've played 25 Britishes in a row. I know I missed '86. Maybe I missed a PGA in there somewhere. Yeah, a lot of those kind of records that I'm compiling just tells me that I'm getting older, but I'm also hanging in there. So maybe some of the records I can beat of Tiger's are just playing more tournaments than him and last a little bit longer. I've been blessed that I haven't had any really -- I've had a couple injuries and a couple nagging things, but I haven't really ever been completely shut down and haven't ever missed a whole year or had a huge problem that I didn't get over relatively quickly. So it's amazing to think, get to come back to Atlanta Athletic Club. Now when they are talking about the next time they might come here, I probably won't be involved. Now it's nice to come in here and feel like I have the game still to compete, and this is not a golf course really any of us are familiar with. David Toms last night at the Past Champions Dinner got up and spoke, and said, "This really isn't the same golf course I played in 2001. It's a lot longer, it's a lot different. It's on the same piece of property and the holes go the same direction, but a lot of them are longer, harder, different grass." So it's going to be a completely different championship for guys like us, who you would think have a little bit of an advantage. I've always liked big, solid golf courses like this. A lot like Congressional was for me; it was a really good fit for my ball-striking. Q. Can you talk about what you saw from Rickie and Bubba as a pair in the team room when you were in Wales? You kind of got a preview of what you might see in the team room going forward in The Ryder Cup; and also, what their games, how important they might be to the future of American golf going forward? DAVIS LOVE III: Well, we saw a lot out of Rickie and Bubba in the team room and up and down the team hall, and then we saw it on YouTube with the videos. They have got some personalities. It was a great mix of wily veterans, serious players, all the way down to fun-loving; but that's what I always say is one of the greatest things about The Ryder Cup is the things that we see that are team building and team camaraderie that most people don't see and they don't believe how hard, how close we have become, and what a great team and how hard we try to win. I keep saying if you see Tiger and Phil on the same side of the ping-pong table taking on all comers, that's what The Ryder Cup is all about. We all enjoy that week of spending time together. And I knew Rickie a little bit just from playing practice rounds with him as an amateur and watching him come up, because he was under the watchful eye of the Bob Tways and Scott Verplanks as an Oklahoma State guy. So knew him a little bitter than Bubba and Overton. It was great to get to know him. I keep saying this: I can't thank Corey and Lisa enough for having me and Robin involved in that Ryder Cup, because it showed us a lot. We got to spend some time with those guys that will probably make a lot of teams and will hopefully make the 2012 team. It was very important. I've got some videos on my iPhone that will pop back up on Rickie and Bubba when they make the team next time. Q. And their games? DAVIS LOVE III: Their games are obviously great. What I like about -- I try to put, like two people, my son and Rickie Fowler, try to get real aggressive and smoke them in the back of the hole, like Tom Watson putted. Rickie is just an aggressive, confident, cocky putter. Obviously both of them are free-swinging, free-spirited, aggressive players, and that's what we need. We need guys like that that are fearless. There's a reason why Corey Pavin picked Rickie Fowler, because Rickie Fowler can birdie the last four holes for you. He's that kind of player; he can make putts under pressure. It looked like a risky pick, but it was not -- it was pick somebody that can putt good under pressure and not be scared in the limelight, and that's Rickie Fowler. Q. Forgive me if some of this has leaked out already but I don't think it has, but where are you as far as your assistant captains, as you call them? Have you made up your mind? DAVIS LOVE III: I haven't. Q. Can you give us any inkling as to what you're thinking? DAVIS LOVE III: I haven't made up my mind. I have talked to José Maria about us being on the same page when we announce and how many we are going to have and things like that. But I think Corey announced at L.A. the year of his Ryder Cup, so that's -- whenever Julius tells me we need to announce, we'll announce. I've talked to a few players round and about. I've talked to some players that will probably make the team about getting some advice from them later this year or early next year about things like that. I haven't come to any conclusion yet that's worth sharing. I've got a long list and I need to shorten it. Q. Would it be the same number as Corey? DAVIS LOVE III: Not real sure. José Maria and I, the discussions we've had is that we should both be on the same page. And I deferred to him; if you want to have two or four or whatever, just let me know, and we'll work it out. And I think this -- between the two of us, we've been competitors and friends for so long, and I'm learning about the captains' agreement and learning about the mechanics of The Ryder Cup, and I don't know if that's spelled out; and then we make that -- start picking our assistant captains. I would assume -- four works extremely well, though. And Corey's plan was to have one of us with each match so he could be back doing what he needed to be doing and we could report in. That worked extremely well. Then, when there was the second biggest flood ever since Noah's flood, it was really good to have four guys plus the caddie assistant captain to get some work done, to get extra towels and manage the situation as best we could. So I think obviously it's nice to have nice in picking the four, you know, picks that we'll have to make to fill out the team, for advice in pairings and stuff like that. But just the mechanics of getting things done, it's nice to have four guys you can rely on. I think four is a good number, unless José feels strong. I think he saw that, as well. They ended up with four plus José. The more help you can get, the better. So we'll get as many as we can and as many carts as we can. It was nice over there to have a pile of golf carts in that weather. Q. Talking a lot about the young guys, guys in their 20s, there has been a flurry of winners this year, and there was a period in the mid '70s when this kind of thing happened. But do you think this time it signals a bit of a sea change given how quickly players are developing with instruction and just everything now? DAVIS LOVE III: Well, everything goes in cycles. We had a long stretch there where the Fred Funks and Kenny Perrys were winning a whole bunch of tournaments, and now non-Americans have been winning all the majors. I think things go in cycles, like no-hitters and home runs, whatever. Things tend to go into cycle. But there's more competition for the same amount of spots on the PGA Tour, and there's more and more good, young players going to be knocking the Davis Loves out of the box and taking their spot. So it's coming. I see it in junior -- I'm watching a lot of junior and amateur golf now. It's just amazing to me how many really good players there are and how many guys there are like Gary Woodland. You think you've seen the ball go as far as it can and along comes a Gary Woodland again and Bubba Watson and Garrigus. These guys are killing it, just great players. It's going to be tough next year to watch when the points really start stacking up. It's going to be pretty volatile I think because there's so many guys, we have so many good young guys that will be bouncing around in the points list. Q. Fast forward to next year when you are doing your press conference at Kiawah and you are down to making your selections. Obviously the team, eight players will be picked ahead of time and you'll have to round out the next four. What are some of the things you're going to focus on for those last four? Will it be based on the eight that have made it? Do you want to fill in holes or are you going to look for guys that are hot? What are you looking for? DAVIS LOVE III: Well, that's why so many times, they say, what do you think about Tiger or what do you think about Phil. I say, well, I don't really -- I haven't put a whole lot of thought into it, because there's no telling what's going to happen, like you say, when I sit down at The PGA Championship next year, what's going to be going on. It might be Scott Stallings and Gary Woodlands and all those guys might have knocked my Furyks and my Stewart Cinks out. You don't know where we are going to be. But what I'm going to be looking for is obviously guys, like you said, that are hot and that are putting good. We want some experience, so if we don't have experience, we'll look for experience. If we don't have guys that are hot with a putter, we'll pick guys that are hot with a putter. But to John's question, it's going to be important to have four of my friends that I rely onto help me fill in the blanks. But that's basically, it's just like the Braves. You know, they filled in the blanks, right? We might need a left-handed pitcher and we might need somebody that can hit for power. Just depends where we are at that point. That's going to be the fun part, picking those four. The hard part is going to be calling those four our or five and telling them they didn't make it. That's the only part I'm not looking forward to. Probably middle of next year, this time next year, I will have had to have made some decisions, but middle of the next year, I will have been playing close attention. Hopefully I'm about fourth or fifth in points. But you'll have to watch from fourth or fifth down, see what everybody is doing, starting about the middle of the summer. Q. When you sort of sit down -- if you were to sit down and compare The Ryder Cup with The Presidents Cup, why is it that Europe has dominated The Ryder Cup in recent years, and when you look at the International Team, and most of them play on the PGA Tour and won on the PGA Tour, why do they struggle to beat America? DAVIS LOVE III: I don't know. I think we putt better at The Presidents Cup than we do at The Ryder Cup (chuckling). I think we are The European Team when we play The Presidents Cup; we are a little bit freer and a little bit more relaxed and play more of our game. And I think at The Ryder Cup, we, the American Team, plays -- they try too hard. They want to win too bad. And like Bob Rotella would tell you, it's just every shot is the same no matter what tournament you're in, whether it's the practice round or the last few holes of The Presidents Cup or Ryder Cup. But in reality, it's not, because you try so hard to win. Presidents Cup we relax and play like the Europeans seem to do. They do it like one or two points better than us. It's not like a huge difference, and I think we need to figure out how to have a little bit more fun and relaxation on the course like we do at The Presidents Cup, or like we do at Greensboro next week. You know, we're kicking butt every other week except for a couple majors and The Ryder Cup. So we need to just figure that out, and you're right, we're not quite as free and loose as we are at The Presidents Cup. Q. A couple of questions: You mentioned earlier that you figured things would get very busy next year but it's already been busy. Can you talk about a few of those details? Also, it's going to get volatile next year but right now you're No. 8 in points and would make the team if it closed today. Where would that rank if you were to make your own team? DAVIS LOVE III: I think we should cut it off after this week, especially if I play good (laughter). I think it was maybe at the British Open, somewhere, somebody said, you could be coasting right now; why aren't you coasting? I said, "I don't coast." I'm trying to make Freddie's team, I'm trying to win the PGA and I'll be trying to win in Greensboro next week. When I decide it's time to coast, I should probably quit. I'm going to work hard to make Freddie's team and the 2012 team no matter whether they pick me to be captain or not. What was the other part of your question? Q. Where would it rank in your accomplishments? DAVIS LOVE III: Where would it rank? Well, I've made 12 teams in a row and I've been frustrated ever since. I want to make the team. I had a heck of a lot of fun with Corey and I told The PGA of America, I'll be somebody behind the scenes at every Ryder Cup, because I just enjoy going and I'll be happy to carry towels for every Ryder Cup after 2012. I'll carry them at 2012, too, if they want me to. But I want to make another team. I want to make another Ryder Cup Team. And if it's not this one, I'm going to try just as hard for the next one. You know, I'm hitting the ball well enough to play on the team. I've just got a short game, just like everybody else -- there's a lot of guys that can say that. I'm playing really good, I just need to make a couple more putts. It would rank pretty high. I'm not going to make it when I'm 55 probably, so I need to go ahead and get it done. KELLY ELBIN: A question about the details that you've been dealing with this year. DAVIS LOVE III: The details are just little things that add up. You've got a timeline of this manufacturer needs the color picked or they need to order fabric or make a decision on this color because it will affect all of the other colors; you know, ideas about posters. It's just a constant flow. I just thought it would be some ups and downs but it's just a general constant flow. And as they explained to me, I can be as much involved or I can just let them pick it. You know, I want to be involved and I want to do the best we can for our team, and I've seen other captains put a heck of a lot of effort into it, and I want to at least give back that amount of effort. So, it's fun. My wife's working hard on clothes. She's going to Chicago next Sunday, Monday, Tuesday. I'm going to be up there two or three times this fall for other things, so I'm going to get a lot done this year. My son's already played a practice round there for me, helped me figure out the course. It's just constant, but it's fun stuff. It's exciting to say, all right, what color is the bag going to be, and then what color are the head covers going to be, and well, the rain suits better match the bag. It's fun. A lot goes into it. It's a lot bigger tournament than I ever thought it was. There's a lot that goes into it. Q. Just testing your memory here, do you recall the last time you might have played with Tiger in a major championship, and just your reaction when you saw the pairing and maybe any added excitement or boost that it gave to you? DAVIS LOVE III: No, I'm not going to remember the last time we played. But you know, my reaction was, I'd rather play with him than in the group ahead of him or behind him, because you're better off in the bubble than just on the outside edge of it. It's going to be good. I had a little talk with him in the locker room yesterday, because I had not seen him. Obviously the conversation immediately turns to The Ryder Cup, like most of my friends now, that you haven't see in a while. Scott Verplank, just ran into him in the locker room; immediately turns to Ryder Cup. It will be fun. I always enjoy playing with Tiger. I always enjoy playing with Pádraig. Obviously there's a lot going on with him right now. People are anxious to see how he plays and there will be a lot of scrutiny. But, it will be like playing in the last group on Thursday. So it's good for me. It will make me focus. Rotella and I just sat down and talked about this championship; well, that's one of the challenges for me. Don't look at the leaderboards, don't think about results, and play your own game and don't let the distractions that go with playing in front of a big gallery and a big pairing get in the way, which is great preparation for Saturday and Sunday. So this is going to be, you know, hopefully it's going to be like playing in the last group four days in a row. KELLY ELBIN: Davis Love III, thank you very much. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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