Davis Love III Plays in 100th Major at 2018 PGA Championship
Davis Love III didn’t win the 2018 PGA Championship, but he reached a remarkable career milestone nonetheless, playing in his 100th major at Bellerive.
Davis Love III joined some elite company at the 2018 PGA Championship, even if it wasn’t the kind you thought about much beforehand.
If you had to guess who had played in the most major championships ever, it’s likely you would guess Jack Nicklaus or Tiger Woods. If you guessed Woods, you would be wrong. If you guessed Nicklaus, you would be right.
Jack Nicklaus leads the list having played in 164 of them. Woods just reached 80 majors played this week. But Davis Love III and 14 others (including Nicklaus) have already reached 100 majors played.
“I’m excited to be in another one,” Love said in a press conference prior to the PGA Championship. “I’ve been working hard this summer to get ready to play again after another injury, but to get ready to play in the only Major I knew I was in this year and compete.”
At four per year, it takes a 25-year career with no misses to get to the century mark, and as strange as it seems, most golfers do not have that kind of longevity. Phil Mickelson, who made his debut on the PGA Tour while he was still in college, and Ernie Els, who turned pro in 1989, are exceptions, not the rule. Both of them have played in 100, as has Nick Faldo. This week Davis Love III ties them.
Of Love’s list of majors, 31 are PGA Championships. He will be able to continue to add to that title since former champs receive a lifetime exemption. Practically speaking, they don’t use it.
Nicklaus, for example, played in his last PGA in 2000 which was at Valhalla CC near Louisville, Kentucky. He was 60 years old.
- Jack Nicklaus – 164
- Gary Player – 150
- Tom Watson – 145
- Arnold Palmer – 142
- Raymond Floyd – 127
- Sam Snead – 119
- Ben Crenshaw – 118
- Gene Sarazen – 112
- Tom Kite – 109
- Mark O’Meara – 109
- Bernhard Langer – 104
“I’ve been blessed to play this long. When you think about it, if you played all four of them for 25 years, that’s pretty incredible, and I spread it out over a little bit longer than that.”
This is Love’s 33rd year as a professional, which means he did not play in all majors every year.
While it seems that playing in 100 majors and winning 21 PGA Tour events should be enough, it’s not for Love. He’s after one more record he believes he can reach: playing in the most PGA Tour events. The record is currently 803, held by Mark Brooks who is four years older than Love and unlikely to add more to that total. Love currently has 757, leaving 46 to tie and 47 to hold the record on his own. This season he has played in 10 events to date, and he has made the cut in four of them. His most recent title was the Wyndham in 2015, which is amazing. Even more astonishing is that he shot two rounds of 64 on the way to victory. https://www.pgatour.com/players/player.01706.davis-love-iii.html
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Surprisingly, the very best memory he has in professional golf was not winning the PGA Championship.
“Caddieing last year in the U.S. Open, I think that should count as a Major to me,” Love mentioned. He caddie for son Dru Love. “That might top the rainbow.”
Just before Love made the winning putt at the PGA, a rainbow appeared in the sky above in the distance behind the 18th green at Winged Foot, a goose bump-giving happenstance which has always fascinated golf fans and media who cover golf.
“My mom was there watching and had a lot of family that had come in, and so it was a very emotional win, especially my dad and Jack Lumpkin coming out of the Met section ( of the PGA of America) and Claude Harmon, and there was so many great stories that people don’t even know about that tied the club professionals together and what it meant to my family,” Love recalled about winning the PGA. “It was an emotional thing for all of us.”
(For those who do not know the history of the Love family, Love’s father, Davis Love, Jr., was killed in a plane crash in 1988, two years after Love turned professional. Jack Lumpkin, a long-time friend of the family and highly-regarded golf instructor, took over supervision of Davis’s game.)
In addition, Love’s Ryder Cup memories have been elevated on the list. He called them his most memorable and most proud times.
“I think being named captain in 2012 and 2016, Bubba Watson said it eloquently a few times that’s like getting in the Hall of Fame, if you’re named Ryder Cup captain, and that’s a big goal for all of us is to not only play on the team but be a part of the team,” he added.
And finally, to date, winning when he was over the age of 50 at the Wyndham is high in Love’s record book. He was named to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2017.
“I don’t see very many guys on that list I can catch,” Love said when looking at those who were ahead of him in victories.
The list of those with more than 100 majors played includes:
- Jack Nicklaus – 164
- Gary Player – 150
- Tom Watson – 145
- Arnold Palmer – 142
- Raymond Floyd – 127
- Sam Snead – 119
- Ben Crenshaw – 118
- Gene Sarazen – 112
- Tom Kite – 109
- Mark O’Meara – 109
- Bernhard Langer – 104
Love is 53 and continues to divide his time between the PGA Tour and Champions Tour. Even if he plays in PGA Championships until he is 60, he can’t catch those ahead of him so long as they continue to play. He would have to play the PGA Championship until he is 63 to top Tom Kite who has 109.
Mark O’Meara and Bernhard Langer, also with 109, are Masters champs and can continue to add to their totals as long as they are able to play well enough to get around the course. O’Meara is also a British Open champ, but he is now 61, and so he is not exempt for the British Open any longer.
"“I’ve been blessed to play this long. When you think about it, if you played all four of them for 25 years, that’s pretty incredible, and I spread it out over a little bit longer than that.”"
This is Love’s 33rd year as a professional, which means he did not play in all majors every year.
While it seems that playing in 100 majors and winning 21 PGA Tour events should be enough, it’s not for Love. He’s after one more record he believes he can reach: playing in the most PGA Tour events.
The record is currently 803, held by Mark Brooks who is four years older than Love and unlikely to add more to that total. Love currently has 757, leaving 46 to tie and 47 to hold the record on his own.
This season he has played in 10 events to date, and he has made the cut in four of them. His most recent title was the Wyndham in 2015, which is amazing. Even more astonishing is that he shot two rounds of 64 on the way to victory.
Surprisingly, the very best memory he has in professional golf was not winning the PGA Championship.
“Caddieing last year in the U.S. Open, I think that should count as a Major to me,” Love mentioned. He caddie for son Dru Love. “That might top the rainbow.”
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The rainbow reference is a shining moment in Love’s career. Just before he made the winning putt at the PGA in 1997, a rainbow appeared in the sky above the 18th green at Winged Foot, a goose bump-giving happenstance which has always fascinated golf fans and media who cover golf.
"“My mom was there watching and had a lot of family that had come in, and so it was a very emotional win, especially my dad and Jack Lumpkin coming out of the Met section ( of the PGA of America) and Claude Harmon, and there was so many great stories that people don’t even know about that tied the club professionals together and what it meant to my family,” Love recalled about winning the PGA. “It was an emotional thing for all of us.”"
For those who do not know the history of the Love family, Love’s father, Davis Love, Jr., was killed in a plane crash in 1988, two years after Love turned professional. Jack Lumpkin, a long-time friend of the family and highly regarded golf instructor, took over supervision of Love’s game.
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Ryder Cup memories are also significant for him. He called them “my most memorable moments and my most proud moments.”
Love played on six teams.
“I think being named captain in 2012 and 2016, Bubba Watson said it eloquently a few times that’s like getting in the Hall of Fame, if you’re named Ryder Cup captain, and that’s a big goal for all of us is to not only play on the team but be a part of the team,” he added.
And finally, winning on the PGA Tour when he was over the age of 50 at the Wyndham in 2015 is high in Love’s personal record book.
Davis Love III was named to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2017.