Davis Love: Ryder Cup Plans Taking Shape
2016 Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III is working with his vice-captains to get the American team organized and ready.
Davis Love III sat down with the media last week for a Ryder Cup heart-to-heart. From shirts to on-course strategies, there are a lot of details that go into the Ryder Cup. 2016 Ryder Cup captain, David Love III, is talking about what is currently happening behind the scenes.
Sometimes, it’s not the biggest things that get guys motivated for Ryder Cup. It’s the little ones. Last week, for example, players were getting measured for team clothes.
“That’s always exciting because, really, reality hits in for some of them, that they may be wearing those clothes,” Love explained. “This is a big week. It’s always a good kickoff for talking to guys as well for me.”
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The outfitting is being done by Ralph Lauren, New Era and Cole Hahn.
Davis Love personally reminded the players he saw to be sure to have their fittings, and then he sent his caddie out again to remind the caddies to remind their players.
“I know when I played, I was one of the last ones down there on Tuesday afternoon. So I can’t really go yell at guys. But my caddie’s out there right now reminding the caddies,” Love added. “If you remind the caddie, they’ll take their player with them sometimes.”
He’s measuring for more than 12 right now because he does not yet know who will be on the team.
“It’s fun to get invited to get your clothes fit, but if you’re outside the bubble, it motivates you a little bit. It’s disappointing if you’re not in that good a position, but it also motivates you,” Love added. “I think some of the guys that have been around for a while, like maybe have played one or two teams but they’re not quite on the points list on this team, they know they’ll get their clothes if they play well, but it is nice to get to go down to the Hagen Villa ( at Muirfield Village Golf Club) and see it all and be a part of it.”
There are also impromptu discussions and texts flying between Davis Love and his assistants on all kinds of topics.
“When I saw Jim Furyk come in the locker room, I laid on the floor by his locker to do my stretching so I can ask him a couple of questions,” Love detailed. “And Tom Lehman has been texting me the whole Pro-Am. One of the players asked me, how busy are you with the Ryder Cup? I said, do you see the phone in my hand? I shouldn’t be doing that.”
Tom Lehman stepped up to take the practice round organization off Love’s hands.
“He knows what I’m going through,” Love noted.
Another assistant, Steve Stricker, is working on fitness and foods.
Because there are many who could still make the team, finding ways to include more players through fittings and practice rounds and discussions with them, Davis Love hopes, makes for better chemistry once the final decision is made. He recalled several times he was on the bubble as far as making Ryder Cup teams.
“Stockton included me a lot in ’91, had me play practice rounds. I don’t remember if I got fit for clothes or not, but he talked to me a lot about it,” Love said. While Love wasn’t picked, Stockton explained why. Love felt like he was included.
When Tom Lehman was captain, Love was not feeling well physically.
“I didn’t really feel like I was one of his guys that he needed to be picking,” Love added. “I felt like I played bad and didn’t give the captain a reason to pick me or to include me.”
Davis Love said one difference from 2012 is that he has guys with experience working on different parts of the organizational puzzle.
“We didn’t wait until the month before to get assistant captains together to start talking about pairings,” Love cited. “Everyone’s taking some pressure off of me, doing a few tasks.”
His biggest concern is finding something for Tiger Woods to do.
“He says he’s getting bored,” Love reported. “So we’ll find him something to do if he can’t come out and play.”
Love has been texting Woods asking him how he is feeling.
“He said he’s making progress and feeling better. We’re getting down to where there’s not that many tournaments left. Hopefully, he comes out blazing when he does come out,” Love added.
Woods, according to Love, has been totally supportive from the start.
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“I’m relying on him, and obviously, his role will be different than Jim Furyk’s role or Tom Lehman’s role,” Love continued.
Right now, Davis Love is considering having Woods as a motivational speaker for one of the team evenings.
“The other team won’t have one of the best players ever to speak to their team.”
One order of business that has been signed by Davis Love and he hopes will be signed shortly by Darren Clarke is the Captain’s Agreement.
Included in it is the order of play, which according to Love will be the alternate shot format in the morning. The two captains have already discussed the course setup.
“The flow is better. Play quicker in the morning,” Love explained. The final matches always bump up against twilight.
“Spending time with him (Clarke) at the Masters and spending time in New York reminded me what a great friend he is, what a great guy he is, what a great gentleman he is,” Love said.
Davis Love III believes all will go well until Sunday night.
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“Then one of us is not going to be very happy,” Davis Love concluded. “But as he said 20 times in New York, no matter what happens, we’ll leave as friends, and it will be a fun week for both of us.”