Davis Love III Wants to Be Oldest PGA Tour Winner

Davis Love III is 53 years old, but he’s still got his eyes on a very specific goal: becoming the oldest winner on the PGA TOUR.

When Davis Love III said at the RSM Classic that he wanted to become the oldest to win on the PGA Tour, it was time to delve into the record books and see just who won when and where.  It’s hard to count him out since Love’s 21st victory came at the Wyndham in 2015. He was 51 years, 4 months, 10 days old.

However, he will have to win one more time to pass the gold standard for PGA Tour old guys, Sam Snead.  Since 1965, Snead has held the oldest-to-win title when he won his eighth Greater Greensboro Open at age 52 years, 10 months and 8 days. (It is now the Wyndham, won most recently by Henrik Stenson, aged 41.)

Even though he is now 53, with 21 PGA Tour victories, having recovered from a broken collarbone earlier this year, it’s hard to count Love out.

Mission No. 1 for Love: Stay healthy

He’s already overcome a spinal fusion to fix problems in his neck, a surgery similar to Peyton Manning’s. One of his pro-am partners this week, Jeff Knox, the low handicap amateur who has become famous as a marker at Augusta National, was headed to play golf with Peyton Manning the next day.  Love told him to tell Peyton, “He gave me a lot of confidence that I could come back and play and win.”

So, Love remains as competitive as ever.

"“When I had my neck surgery, I said I don’t want to just retire and go do TV and be happy,” he said. “I wanted to have neck surgery and come back and win.”"

After the surgery in 2013, it took two years, but he successfully carted off that 21st trophy at Wyndham.

Right now, Love says he’s got a hip that’s troublesome, and he’s working on getting some more clubhead speed. Unfortunately, earlier this year he had a broken collarbone which happened while he was snowboarding. That kept him out for many weeks. Then, of course, he had to get his game back in shape.

As recently as the first day of the Wyndham Championship this year he shot a bogey-free 64.  He still has the fire power and enough distance to stay out there with the longer hitters if not the longest hitters.

“If I can get healthy and eight more miles-an-hour clubhead speed by spring, I’ll be all right. I don’t want even want to go on TrackMan right now. Don’t tell me how slow it’s going,” he quipped.

In addition, at the CIMB, he felt he played well.   He finished T-28.

“I’m not going to stay and play if I can’t compete. If I’m scratching to make cuts, I’m not going to do it,” he added.

The following week at the Sanderson where his son, Dru Love, was in the field and played the weekend. Love missed the cut and was annoyed by that.

"“I was out there for two days walking around. That was a weird feeling. Miss the cut and then watch two days. I usually am gone in two hours, much less stay another two days,” he admitted."

It’s likely Love still has enough distance to stay out there with the longer hitters if not the longest hitters.  Even at 85% of his former self, he will be long.   However, he joked that if he had played from the same tees as his pro-am partners, he might not have out-driven them. In addition to Knox, Love played with Joe Adams from RSM, Jon Lester from the Cubs and Jake Owen, who was entertaining for the tournament.

“I might have hit a few more fairways than them, but they bombed it,” he admitted.

Davis Love III still has some of the “road warrior” mentality

The issue for Love may be, as it is for many older golfers, putting together four solid rounds.  Looking at his last two seasons, which included injury and being Ryder Cup captain, in the 2016 season, he had no top tens. In 2017, coming back from the injury, he has had one.

The good news for Love is that he is in the life member exemption category on the PGA Tour because he has been a member for more than 15 years and has won more than 20 tournaments. He can enter any regular PGA Tour event he wants to.  Not the WGCs, not The Players, not the majors, but any regular PGA Tour event because of those victories and his tenure. He’s stacked ahead of the top 125.

"“Even Dru asked me, he said, ‘You’re going to play at least 15 tournaments a year, the next 10 years?’ I said, I sure hope so. He just couldn’t believe it, and he’s seen me play for 30 plus years,” Love said about his intentions. “Never a doubt in my mind that on one tour or another I want to play at least 15, play a full schedule. That’s my dilemma with TV. If I do 17 events on the TV, can I still play 15 or 20 events on the Tour? That’s why I haven’t really committed to do anything other than playing.”"

Whether he gets to the victory circle or not depends on his health and attitude.  The fire to win is clearly still there.

Next: Tiger Woods: Don't get your hopes up in latest return

Oldest PGA Tour winners:

• 52 years, 10 months, 8 days, Sam Snead, 1965 Greater Greensboro Open
• 51 years, 7 months, 10 days, Art Wall, 1975 Greater Milwaukee Open
• 51 years, 4 months, 10 days, Davis Love III, 2015 Wyndham Championship
• 51 years, 3 months, 7 days, Jim Barnes, 1937 Long Island Open
• 51 years, 1 month, 5 days, John Barnum, 1962 Cajun Classic
• 50 years, 8 months, 11 days, Fred Funk, 2007 Mayakoba Golf Classic
• 50 years, 1 month, 18 days, Craig Stadler, 2003 B.C. Open
• 49 years, 6 months, 4 days, Raymond Floyd, 1992 Doral-Ryder Open
• 49 years, 5 months, 25 days, Woody Austin, 2013 Sanderson Farms Championship
• 49 years, 4 months, 23 days, Peter Jacobsen, 2003 Greater Hartford Open

( Courtesy PGA Tour)

Oldest winners of majors:

• Julius Boros, 1968 PGA Championship, 48 years, 4 months, 18 days
• Old Tom Morris, 1867 British Open, 46 years, 99 days
• Jack Nicklaus, 1986 Masters, 46 years, 2 months, 23 days
• Jerry Barber, 1961 PGA Championship, 45 Years, 3 months, 6 days
• Hale Irwin, 1990 U.S. Open, 45 years, 15 days old
• Lee Trevino, 1984 PGA Championship, 44 years, 8 months, 18 days
• Roberto de Vicenzo, 1967 British Open, 44 years, 93 days
• Harry Vardon, 1914 British Open, 44 years, 41 days
• Raymond Floyd, 1986 U.S. Open, 43 years, 9 months, 11 days
• Ted Ray, 1920 U.S. Open, 43 years, 4 months, 16 days old

Oldest Winners on European Tour:

The three oldest victories on the European Tour belong to Miguel Angel Jimenez, winning the 2014 Open de Espana   at age 50 and 133 days; winning the 2014 Hong Kong Open at age 49 and 337 days; and winning the 2012 UBS Hong Kong Open at age 48 and 318 days.

But even those guys aren’t the oldest winners in professional golf.  There are many PGA Tour Champions players who have won over the age of 60.

Oldest PGA Tour Champions winners:

• Mike Fetchick ,63 years to the day, 1985 Hilton Head Seniors Invitational
• Jay Haas, 62 years, 10 months, 7 days, 2016 Toshiba Classic
• Gary Player, 62 years, 9 months, 22 days, 1998 Northville Long Island Classic
• Jock Hutchison, 62 years, 7 months, 5 days, 1947 Senior PGA Championship
• Gary Player, 61 years, 8 months, 26 days, 1997, Senior British Open
• Tom Watson, 61 years, 9 months, 25 days, 2011 Senior PGA Championship
• J.C. Snead, 61 years, 8 months, 9 days, 2002 Greater Baltimore Classic
• Jimmy Powell, 61 years, 8 months, 5 days, 1996 Brickyard Crossing Championship
• Bruce Crampton, 61 years, 7 months, 20 days, 1997 Cadillac NFL Golf Classic
• Hale Irwin, 61 years, 7 months, 18 days, 2007 MasterCard Championship at Hualalai
• Roberto De Vicenzo, 61 years, 3 months, 2 days, 1984 Merrill Lynch/Golf Digest Commemorative
• Gil Morgan, 60 years, 11 months, 7 days, 2007 Wal-Mart First Tee Open at Pebble Beach
• Jay Haas, 60 years, 10 months, 17 days, 2014 Greater Hickory Kia Classic at Rock Barn
• Bob Charles, 60 years, 7 months, 17 days, 1996 Hyatt Regency Maui Kaanapali Classic
• Bruce Summerhays, 60 years, 6 months, 28 days, 2004 Kroger Classic
• Lee Trevino, 60 years, 6 months, 25 days, 2000 Cadillac NFL Golf Classic
• Jimmy Powell, 60 years, 6 months, 9 days, 1995 First of America Classic
• Bob Gilder, 60 years, 6 months, 5 days, 2011 Principal Charity Classic
• Tom Watson, 60 years, 4 months, 20 days, 2010 Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai
• George Archer, 60 years, 3 months, 23 days, 2000 MasterCard Championship
• Hale Irwin, 60 years, 3 months, 29 days, SAS Championship
• Dale Douglass, 60 years, 3 months, 20 days, 1996 Bell Atlantic Classic
• Hale Irwin, 60 years, 3 months, 1 day, 2005 Walmart First Tee Open at Pebble Beach
• Bernhard Langer, 60 years, 2 months, 2 days, 2017 PowerShares QQQ Championship
• Bernhard Langer, 60 years, 1 month, 25 days, 2017 Dominion Energy Charity Classic
• Bernhard Langer, 60 years, 28 days, 2017 PURE Insurance Championship
• Craig Stadler, 60 years, 21 days, 2013 Encompass Championship
• Jim Colbert, 60 years, 2 days, 2001 SBC Senior Classic

(Source: PGA Tour)

And finally, the oldest of all:

Neil Coles, 67 years and 276 days, 2002 Lawrence Batley Seniors Open