Davis Love III has fond memories of playing in Las Vegas
As Las Vegas celebrates the 20th anniversary of Tiger Woods’ first win on the PGA Tour, Davis Love III, the golfer Woods beat in the playoff at the Las Vegas Invitational in 1996, has his own local victory in 1993 and a pretty good golf resume himself.
Love, 52, continues to compete on the PGA Tour. He won the Wyndham Championship on Aug. 21, his first Tour win since 2008. When he tees off Thursday in the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open at TPC Summerlin, Love will be making his 23rd appearance in Las Vegas.
“I’ve always enjoyed coming out here,” he said. “I love what the Shriners do for kids. They’re a charity that runs a tournament, and you don’t see that a lot these days. I’ve spent some time with some of the kids, and they’re awesome to be around.”
Love was the captain for the United States in last month’s Ryder Cup victory, the first for the Americans since 2008. He also had tasted victory as a Ryder Cup player in 1993 and 1999. For him to complete the Daily Double and win as a player and captain added to his legacy in the sport.
“It was important for American golf,” he said. “We hadn’t won in a while. But the guys performed great, and we got the job done.
“People have been coming up to me since I got to Vegas congratulating me. It’s a great feeling to have been part of it.”
He also made a bold decision to add Ryan Moore to the lineup with his final captain’s pick. The move paid off when the former UNLV All-American won his singles match on the final day to clinch the Cup for the Americans.
They will play in Wednesday’s Pro-Am, with Moore teeing off from No. 1 at 7:05 a.m. and Love from the 10th tee at 11:25.
“It was actually an easy call,” Love said. “Ryan was always a very good match play player, and he had been playing extremely well in the weeks leading up to the Ryder Cup. He earned his spot.”
Much has been written and said about Love losing to Woods in the playoff in 1996. The tournament had record crowds that week, and Woods was the fan favorite. But lost in everything was that Love also had played some good golf.
He shot 64 in the third round and finished the 90-hole event at 27 under par. Had he not put his second shot in the back bunker on the first playoff hole, he might have joined Jim Furyk as the only multiple winner in the history of the Las Vegas PGA Tour stop. Furyk won in 1995 (his first tour victory), 1998 and 1999.
“I had to scramble a little to get myself into contention,” Love said. “I felt like I had momentum going into the playoff, but then I stuck it in the back bunker, and that was that.
“Tiger called me after the Ryder Cup, and he said, ‘Do you know what today is?’ I said, ‘Friday?’ and he said, ‘Twenty years ago today,’ and it all came back to me. I said, ‘I probably shouldn’t have hit that 8-iron into the back bunker, and Tiger said to me, ‘You probably should have hit driver off the tee.’ I kidded him and said, ‘I made you a somebody.’”
There was no stress for Love in 1993 when he won the Las Vegas Invitational. He was 29 and a model of consistency, and his play that week reflected it. He shot rounds of 67, 66, 67, 65 and 66 to beat Craig Stadler by eight strokes with a total of 29-under 331.
“The courses were shorter back then, and I was hitting it longer,” Love said. “It was a time where I was playing well, and I had a good week.”
Love said his game is rusty and his expectations for this week aren’t high.
“I’d like to play well and make the cut,” he said. “I love playing out here in the desert. So if I can stick around for the weekend, I’ll be pleased.”
Contact Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow @stevecarprj on Twitter.