Davis Love III signs on for Shaw Classic
Davis Love III is torn.
Some weeks, he competes against his buddies on the senior circuit.
Some weeks, he competes with his boy, Dru, now trying to follow his father’s famous footsteps and carve out a career on the PGA Tour.
With a World Golf Hall of Fame plaque and a lifetime exemption on the biggest stage, the elder Love has certainly earned the right to cherry-pick his schedule, so it speaks volumes that the 54-yearold long-baller has committed to tee it up later this summer at Calgary ’s annual stop on the PGA Tour Champions — the Shaw Charity Classic at Canyon Meadows.
“I keep getting dragged back and forth, kind of like Steve Stricker. We can’t decide which side of the fence we’re supposed to be grazing on,” Love said with a laugh. “But I’ve heard great things about the Shaw Charity Classic. When I ask my friends, especially the guys that like to fish, which tournaments they are gonna play coming up, they all say, ‘Oh, we’re going to Calgary.’ So it’s got great reviews.”
For Shaw Charity Classic organizers, Love has been on the wish list for several summers, but the smooth-swinging righty from Sea Island, Ga., has been busy battling the young bucks.
Next week, he’ll play the PGA Tour’s John Deere Classic. Ditto for Dru. From there, father and son will beeline to the Barbasol Championship.
Davis Love III’s upcoming slate also includes the PGA Championship at Bellerive. He raised the Wanamaker Trophy in 1997, his only major crown.
Davis Love IV — known to everybody as Dru — was just a tyke then.
Now 24, he is trying to take advantage of sponsor invites to prove he belongs under the same spotlight where his dad racked up 21 career tournament titles and ranks No. 10 on the all-time money list.
“I treat (Dru) like Justin Thomas and all these other kids that I’ve watched come up and now I’ve had on Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup teams,” said Davis Love III, who captained Team USA to a triumph at the 2016 Ryder Cup and is vicecaptain for the upcoming instalment. “I just like being around him and watching him play and trying to keep up with him.”
Truth is, it’s probably the other way around — Dru is still trying to keep up with his old man.
Davis Love III is less than three years removed from his most recent victory on the PGA Tour. Despite being twice the age of some of his playing partners, he has survived the cut in four of eight starts this season.
“When I did turn 50 a few years ago, I said, ‘If I putt well enough to win on the Champions Tour, then I feel like I can still win on the regular tour.’ And at 51, I did,” said Love, fresh off a T-10 finish at the U.S. Senior Open.
“And I still feel that way. After last week, I’m excited to go play in the John Deere, because I feel like I can compete with the way I’m hitting it. But I have to putt well.
“I think I have honestly a better chance of winning a PGA Tour event that has tough conditions than I would of winning a Champions Tour event where the winning score is 18- or 20-under-par. It’s a three-day race to 20-under, and that just takes a lot of great putting. The ones I can still be competitive with ball-striking and wear the golf course down … Those are probably still the ones where I have the best chance to win, rather than having to make 25 birdies over three days.”
Win or lose, there’s no doubt Love will be a gallery-magnet on his first visit to the Shaw Charity Classic, slated for Aug. 31-Sept. 2 at Canyon Meadows.