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PNC FATHER/SON CHALLENGEDecember 13, 2012Dru LoveDavis Love IIIORLANDO, FLORIDA DAVE SENKO: Davis and Dru, welcome. Maybe just get us started, Davis. You played in this event four times now, I believe. Maybe just some thoughts on what makes it special, the opportunity to play with your son in an event of this magnitude. DAVIS LOVE, III: Well, getting to play with your son or daughter is fun just on a Saturday afternoon. But getting to play in a golf tournament and getting to compete against your peers and their kids is a lot of fun. We're excited to get to pair up. Obviously we did it when Dru was smaller and younger and we had a lot of fun. We got competitive right before it ended. We're just thrilled that PNC has brought it back and we're going to get another shot at it. DAVE SENKO: Dru, maybe just echo some thoughts from your dad. You're going to Alabama next year, I understand. DRU LOVE: Actually going to Alabama this year. I just like the tournament because you get to come and watch all these legends play golf, and you get the rare chance to play with somebody you've grown up watching and idolizing. I think that's the coolest part. You know, like getting out with your dad and playing a scramble is no big deal. When you jump out there with‑‑ last year we had Shark and Vijay. That was really cool. That's what I enjoy about it. DAVE SENKO: What was little first time you played? How old were you? DRU LOVE: I was 12, I think, 2006. DAVE SENKO: Any memories of that first time you played? DRU LOVE: I don't remember the first one too well. I remember the last one we played in when we started getting up towards the lead coming down the line, the stretch, and having a chance. That was real fun. DAVE SENKO: Questions. Q. Dru, now that you'll be playing your tee ball most of the time I assume, you've grown up in the game, is the game more special to you because of your background in the game? DRU LOVE: You know, obviously I have some shoes to fill, but I don't think it makes this any more special. I think when a kid loves a sport and grows up playing it, no matter who their dad is, you play it enough and get your own love for it. Obviously I'm influenced by him growing up going to all these tournaments. But just like any kid, when you pick up a new sport you get good at it and then you start to love it. I think that's what I've done. Q. (Question regarding beating his father.) DRU LOVE: This summer I beat him I think once. It was me and my teammate in Alabama, William Sellers, against him and two other people. We closed 'em out in 15 holes. That was the first time I've beaten him straight up from the same tees. Q. That was this summer, right? DAVIS LOVE, III: Yes, and first time ever. Not just this summer. I was thinking about it yesterday, and unfortunately lately we haven't gotten to play a lot. He's been in Alabama, and when we've been together we've been doing things like going to the is SEC championship game and not playing. Last time we played was Medina with Stricker and some other guy. I can't remember who. Bradley. Jason Dufner, somebody like that. But we haven't really played much since summer because he's been so busy. Q. How many points is Alabama going to beat Notre Dame by? DRU LOVE: I got 'em winning 30 and 17. That was my pick. Q. (No microphone.) DAVIS LOVE, III: It's getting more and more competitive because he's getting better and better. You know, I never really tried to beat my dad, but I was trying to beat my mom because she was so good. Dru didn't have to worry about that. He's always wanted to compete. He always wants to try to outdrive me just like I did growing up. You want to hit it farther and beat the good players. Anybody on his team or most of these kids now, it's hard to beat 'em any time, but you try to hold 'em off. Q. What's your take on the Watson pick and going with an older captain, and outside‑the‑box pick? DAVIS LOVE, III: Well, I told Ted Bishop inside the box hasn't been working lately, so outside the box is not a bad idea. You know, I talked to Tom. I'm excited for him. I think obviously in Scotland, a guy that has so much passion for the game and so much respect over there is great. For Keegan Bradley or Brandt Snedeker or those guys that didn't get to play with Tom a lot, don't really know him that well, it's going to be exciting. For guys like Mickelson, he's been around Tom a lot and has a lot of respect for the guy and will enjoy it. Did Phil play in '93? Probably not. So Phil didn't play for him; Tiger didn't. So I think it's good on both ends. I think Tom adds a lot of passion and a lot of ideas. I've liked the direction he's already told me what he's thinking. I think it's good. We have a nice gap right now. Even I could have waited two more years. But I think Ted all along knew that I would have been better at home and Tom would be the right guy for Scotland. He's had it in his mind for a long time. Q. Regarding that gap, a lot of players in this field, a lot, have expressed passionate support for Larry Nelson who got passed over back in '97. Given the gap and given the old guy pick, Nelson in '16 make sense to you? DAVIS LOVE, III: I think now that they've gone outside the box and certainly broke the mold they can do whatever they want. They have a plan. They didn't just all the sudden decide this. They pencil guys in for the right places. Obviously Chicago at home was an easy place for me; Tom Watson in Scotland is pretty natural. Now I'm kind of like a president. Now I can see what's happened in the past and what's going to happen in the future and be a little bit more on the inside. Now I understand a little bit more what led up to the last three or four captains and what led up to Tom. So, yeah, they've got a good plan. They have done a great job picking captains. The captains have done a great job getting the teams ready. We've just had unfortunate breaks and some bad ‑‑ not even days ‑‑ some bad little patches. I keep saying it, but I watched Corey for an hour and a half on Saturday and we just went flat. Maybe an hour and a half Sunday at Medina in the morning, and we weren't quite as on edge or sharp and we got behind. They're doing a great job. The players just haven't quite gotten the good break to win it for 'em. But I've known about Tom for a little while. The more I think about it the more excited I get. It makes me want to make the team now. I hope some guys felt like that when I was captain. But it makes me want to make the team because I had so much fun with him in '93. I would love to do it again. Q. Two things, Davis. Can you say how long you've known? Also, you just referenced '93, which I believe was your first Ryder Cup. What do you remember about that? What do you remember about him as captain? DAVIS LOVE, III: Well, I haven't known any longer than a few other people on the inside. I used Tom's line a lot in the last two years. When we were sitting in the Concorde lounge getting ready to head over to the Belfry, he said, Boys we're getting ready to go on a great adventure. He made it grander than going to do a golf tournament. It was a lifetime experience, and he expressed that and he carried that through the whole week. I will always remember. It was my first so everything was bigger and brighter and shinier. But it still was a big deal. There was a legend in the game that you got play for. His decisiveness and his confidence I think always showed through for us. I think that in Scotland or overseas it's gonna be very, very important. We bounced back and forth between their game and our game. They control it over there and we control it over here. They have their fans over there and we have our fans over here. I think Tom certainly tilts it back more towards our favor when you go over there. Like Curtis did. He gave us an air of confidence and a feeling that he was protective of us. I think Tom, even at his age, we see him at the British Open every year, we see him so many places, at the Masters, and he's still a big part of our golf life. I'll always remember his leadership. I think that's one of the biggest reasons he was picked, is because he's a great leader and passionate about the Ryder Cup and he's confident. Q. When you were first named there was discussion about, yeah, see if I can make my team. Now that you've been on that side and Tom is going to be the next captain, will you have that same‑‑ are you serious about making the team? DAVIS LOVE, III: First thing is Fred's Presidents Cup team. Got to get to that first. We had a lot of discussions about it. I keep telling him I would love to play on his team. I would love to play at Jack's place. But, yeah, I got to start out every year with a goal. I want to get back and work my way towards the top, and that's a good way to do so it. DRU LOVE: Got to get out of the woods and onto the golf course. DAVIS LOVE, III: I practiced last week and played. What were you doing? Q. Would that come full circle for you to go back and play for Tom again at a Ryder Cup? DAVIS LOVE, III: A soon as I started hearing that, it immediately clicked that that would be pretty neat to come back and play for him again. For any player on the TOUR it's a long‑shot goal to make the Ryder Cup team. So I will start that process again. Obviously can't do much about it this year except win majors, or this coming year. But certainly it would be awfully nice at 50 to be on another Ryder Cup team. Q. When Dru finally did beat you for the first time ever, were you happy for him that he beat you or... DAVIS LOVE, III: Not really. No, I love playing with him. It's like breaking 80 or breaking 70, you know, breaking your personal best score or whatever. It's something he's grinding for. It'll get easy for him now. He'll do it all the time, now. Hopefully he beats the stew out of me on Saturday and Sunday. Yeah, you know it's coming. I know my dad fought us off pretty hard and didn't like getting beat. I don't like getting beat by Brandt Snedeker or Lucas Glover either, but the time comes. Q. (No microphone.) DAVIS LOVE, III: It's pretty good. Dru made a good point. If I get off the surfboard and out of a tree this time of year I would feel a little better. I'm getting there with my putting. I've putted well in streaks in Vegas, the McGladrey. I had two or three good rounds in both tournaments and got myself back on the leaderboard a little bit. So I'm feeling good about it. I'm excited about next year. I think I had my last PGA board conference call on Tuesday morning. They keep throwing one more at me. January 1 I would not be on the board of the TOUR anymore and obviously Ryder Cup duties have wound down. So next year is free sailing. I'm very excited about it. I thought I was doing fine through all that time playing and trying to captain the team, but I wore myself into the ground pretty good. I'm looking forward to next year playing a nice balanced schedule and focusing more on my golf. Q. (Question regarding schedule.) DAVIS LOVE, III: Sony, Humana, my usual ones. Scottsdale, Pebble. DAVE SENKO: All right, thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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