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WYNDHAM CHAMPIONSHIP

August 21, 2015

Davis Love III

GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA

JOHN BUSH: We'd like to welcome Davis Love, III into the Interview Room after a 4-under par, 66.
Davis, you mentioned outside five birdies on your last hole but or your first 8 holes but it was actually the last ten holes that was the most exciting.
Comment on your day.
DAVIS LOVE, III: Yeah. Got off to a really nice start. The hard holes usually are 10, 11, 12 and they were kind downwind. They actually played easy. Then holes like 7 and 8 that you think would be easy, and 5, didn't play that easy.
So, I missed a few fairways in the last ten holes and made some nice putts for par and that felt good but it was a little too dramatic. It will look boring on the card, ten pars, but I made some nice putts for par and some good up and downs and kept the round together.
JOHN BUSH: Let's go right into questions.

Q. Davis, I think you said yesterday that Jack gave you a putting tip. What was it and when did it happen?
DAVIS LOVE, III: Something that he has to remind me quite a bit, wouldn't get enough hit on the ball. Kind of swinging up on it a little bit and not catching it real solid and he just wanted me to get the stroke a little shorter and a little more aggressive and get more hit on it.
I did pretty well with it. I worked with Don Rotella at the PGA and I thought I was close and I hit some bad shots there that it wasn't the putter that cost me but then it kicked in this week. I'm really rolling it well. The speed is pretty good. Even if they don't go in they're up there pretty close.
You know, it saved me. Obviously I don't know what I made, 10, 11 birdies. You're not going to make birdies unless you're making putts. A few good par saves as well has been nice.

Q. Davis, what is it about this course that excites the guys. Obviously at you're advanced age, what excites you about this course?
DAVIS LOVE, III: I think a lot of the players, you know, obviously there's a newer generation of players but they still appreciate Donald Ross and Seth Raynor and Tillinghast when they get there. It's getting harder and a harder to get there. We don't play it that much on the Tour and on either Tour, really, Web.com -- or our Champions. You don't see quite as many of the old classic golf courses. They seem to have -- people think they're not quite big enough or long enough.
This is a great golf course and I also enjoy coming back. I love Donald Ross. They did a great job with the renovation and the bermuda greens have been just a great -- like Memphis, just changed the golf course and made it a lot more fun to play.

Q. Davis, aside from injury, what do you think has been different in the last few years that's been harder to keep you up there? Has anything changed in your game or that you find that you don't do as well as you used to?
DAVIS LOVE, III: I would say just lack of being able to consistently play. You know, I look at it like Tiger, if you don't get to play a full season after full season it's hard to get into a rhythm and you know I was out with a -- major neck surgery they said would take two years to come back, after two and a half years I had another surgery and on my foot, so, I just had a little bit of bad luck or worn out parts, one of the two, or both.
But, golf-wise, I get a little quick. That's what my brother told me last week. "You're swing is good, you just get a little quick from the top every once in awhile."
That's trying too hard or impatient or nervous or something like that. So, working on that has really helped this week and, you know, obviously putting. If you don't putt well -- you go back and look at my putting stats the last five years, my best five years are obviously a lot worse. Putting is the big key out here. Everybody hits it long and good.
I'm struggling with getting used to that -- not everybody but a lot of people hit it by me and, you know, part of that is being 51 and part of that is being everybody is long, you know. Everybody on my son's golf team hits it by me.
So, you know, a combination. You don't have as many par-5s to beat up on. I'm not quite as long and the putter is not that good day-in and day-out so when I putt like this, you know, I can certainly compete.
That's what I keep saying about the Champions Tour. If I putt well enough to win an event out there I can win out here because those guys are putting really, really well. If I putt really well out here I can still compete.

Q. Davis, we probably asked you this before, but did you and your friends come here when you were at Carolina to play and what's your earliest memory of the course?
DAVIS LOVE, III: First year they had the tournament here, first time I played here. Like Jay Haas said, he hadn't been here -- he was here Wednesday. Said he hadn't been here in 40 years. I didn't have any history here before. I was excited -- I had heard about it and how great the course was but I had never played here.
John Hughes, Mr. Hughes took us to Forest Oaks a bunch and we had a pretty good in over there. They had really good tater tots, too, so we mostly went there to play and eat lunch.

Q. Do you plan to play a full schedule on the PGA TOUR next year because of the captaincy or juggle both Tours or what are you looking at?
DAVIS LOVE, III: Well, I'm hoping to -- if I can stay, you know, competitive on the regular tour, keep playing decent, feel like I'm not taking up a spot, I'm going to play on the regular Tour, especially next year, it's my 30th year, Ryder Cup year and when I get paired I played with a whole bunch of guys that could play on Ryder Cup team and Presidents Cup team, you know.
I'm really focused on the Ryder Cup team but Jay has would like me to be really trying to go figure out Brooks Koepka for him right new and some of the guys that he doesn't know.
So, it's helping me this year and next year for the Ryder Cup. I played with Bubba at the Greenbrier and just watched him hit driver after driver. I learned so much about his game that even though he played for me once already before and I've watched him play a lot, that day and just two days and spending time with him really helps, you know. It will help me a lot next year.

Q. This is kind of a hypothetical but if you were to go on to win this week, what would you tell Jay?
DAVIS LOVE, III: I tell him I'm going to Barclays and keep an eye on me (laughter). I'm taking it one day at a time. You know, that's what Tiger and I talked about on Tuesday, we have to win to go to the Barclays. Let's get the plan.
And it's a one spot qualifier I think for me, a one position qualifier. Second or 3rd probably doesn't do me any good. But I'm not looking past, you know, tomorrow or Sunday right now and try to just keep improving -- you know, I've been -- you know, since April I've been working hard trying to get back to where I can walk 18 holes first and then 36 and walk a whole week.
So this is the best I felt in awhile and obviously the best I've played so I just want to keep making progress.

Q. Do you feel the ankle anymore?
DAVIS LOVE, III: I feel it, yeah. I'll be on my game ready ice machine this afternoon and tonight but it's not as bad. I was a little nervous -- I withdrew from Tiger's tournament. I was a little nervous after that.
We went back and did a whole other MRI and checked everything out. It's good, nothing is hurt anymore, just scar tissue and you got to just keep walking. They say walking is my best therapy. Go play tournaments.
So I know I'm wearing out my doctor and my therapist and my trainer at home like wear them down because I keep asking questions. It is getting better. It's getting better every week, knock on wood.

Q. Davis, we know the young players have dominated the majors in the last few years but do you feel like the media and the people in general have been jumping on the band wagon too quickly and saying the game has changed, it's now a young man's game?
DAVIS LOVE, III: Well, I think we can go back and look at, you know, all kinds of streaks in Majors with Americans winning and Europeans winning, you know, back and forth.
I think Jordan Spieth is an unbelievably great player and it's his time. But, yeah, they'll be some other streak in two, three years or something new and different.
I'm just excited about the way that the game is going, new stars. You think obviously Tiger is still playing and obviously this week playing well and he'll get his game back but, you know, it's nice to see that the fans will jump on the band wagon, you know, that Jordan Spieth and Jason Day can be stars, you know, and can be popular and can carry the game.
Obviously Jordan right now is carrying the game. He's as big a deal when he shows up as Tiger Woods. It's just great that we have some new guys and that they're playing really well.

Q. I know it's still a year away. You mentioned the Ryder Cup. How invigorating of a feeling, does it have a second chance and sort of change the way you're going about it?
DAVIS LOVE, III: I'm excited about the new direction that the PGA of America is taking the Ryder Cup. They give us -- when I say "us", Tiger, Phil, Furyk, Stricker, Lehman, Raymond, Rickie, all of us the freedom to kind of direct where it's going to go the next ten years and make some changes.
I'm still in a little bit of shock that that group of guys picked me to lead it but it makes sense that it was either me or Tom Lehman or Steve Stricker or somebody in that group that was -- that kind of knew the new plan, that could take it and run with it.
But I'm excited because I'm spending more time -- you've seen it in the last few months, more time with Mickelson, more time with Woods, more time with Stricker.
We're talking more about what's the plan for the Presidents Cup and for the Ryder Cup and for practice and for the golf course. Tom Lehman spent -- he was up in Minnesota probably two, three weeks around the Champions Tour event. He must have texted me, e-mailed me, called me ten times from up there working on stuff. We're all working together now.
And, you know, Tiger and Phil say, "Hey, you're Captain, make a decision". But we're all working together a lot more than we used to.
We spend more time thinking about things, talking about things than we ever have since I've -- since '93 since I've been involved. It's a team effort of the Captains to get the team prepared to play and I think that's -- it's very exciting for me and for those guys.

Q. Is there going to be another Davis Love on Tour soon? What's your status with your son now?
DAVIS LOVE, III: I hope so. He's got a lot of potential. He's playing on a great team with great players you know, Robby Shelton is playing the U.S. Amateur this week, one of the best players in the country, and Tom Lovelady have been great for him to compete against. There's Justin Thomas and three other young guys on the Web.com that came out of there -- four guys that he played with.
He's got a bunch of great players that he's learned to play from, got a great coach so he's making progress but he hits it a long way and putts really good. So he's got a good chance.
JOHN BUSH: All right. Davis Love, III. Thank you, sir.

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