Player
Profile
Love
started playing golf as soon as he could walk,
under the tutelage of his father Davis Love
Jr., who was regarded as one of the premier
teachers in the game, and who played in many
PGA Tour events in the 60s ... Davis III was
born the day after his father finished T-31st
in the 1964 Masters ... By the time he was ten,
there was no doubt in Love's mind that he would
follow in his fathers footsteps and become a
professional golfer ... He did not have much
success in junior golf, but things changed when
he went to play college golf at North Carolina
... He became a three-time All-American and
played on the 1985 Walker Cup team, turning
pro after that and finishing T-7th in the Q-School
... In his rookie season, Love earned $113,245
(ranked 77th) and led the tour in driving distance
... He won for the first time at the 1987 MCI
Heritage Classic, and won $297,378 for the year
(ranked 33rd) ... 1988 was a terrible year for
him both professionally, as he earned $156,068
on tour ranking him 75th, and personally, when
his father and only teacher was killed in a
plane crash.
In 1989, Love finished 44th on the money list
with $278,760 despite missing six weeks with
a broken bone in his left wrist which occurred
that summer during the British Open ... In the
summer of 1990 he started to work with Butch
Harmon and soon won his second tournament, The
International ... Since then Love has won consistently
on the PGA Tour, highlighted by his first major
win at the PGA Championship at Winged Foot in
1997 ... Member of the 1993, 1995, 1997 and
1999 Ryder Cup teams ... Surpassed the million
dollar mark in earnings for the fifth year in
a row and sixth time in his career ... Was forced
to withdraw from 1997 Nissan Open with a case
of kidney stones which he had surgically removed
days later ... Returned to the tour for the
Bay Hill Invitational ... In 1999 suffered an
ailment diagnosed as recurring problem with
lower back disk, was advised by doctors to be
sure and take some time off ... Almost missed
the Ryder Cup matches in 1999, due to a pinched
nerve which caused pain in shoulder and back
and numbness in fingers ... Inducted into Georgia's
Golf Hall of Fame in Augusta in 2001.
PGA Tour Wins: 14 - 1987 MCI Heritage
Classic, 1990 International, 1991 MCI Heritage
Classic, 1992 Players, MCI Heritage, K-Mart
Greater Greensboro Open, 1993 Infiniti Tournament
of Champions, Las Vegas Invitational, 1995 Freeport-McMoRan
Classic, 1996 Buick Invitational, 1997 PGA Championship,
Buick Challenge, 1998 MCI Classic, 2001 AT&T
Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.
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