He won’t have camouflage or his compound bow with him but good ol’ boys can lift an adult beverage to one of our own when professional golfer Davis Love III leads the United States squad in the 2016 Ryder Cup at Hazeltine National Golf Club.
Love was named captain of the U.S. team for the second time. He led the squad in 2012 when it narrowly lost to the International squad by a point. The U.S. team has won the Ryder Cup only twice in its last 10 tries after dominating the biennial event for decades. Hazeltine National is located in Chaska, Minn.
Love lives at Sea Island, Ga., and is a longtime hunter and angler. He has mounted deer and fish in his cabin, old blackpowder rifles on the mantel of his fireplace and loves working on his nearly 2,900-acre getaway, Copeland Hall.
Love has traveled around the world, won 20 times and finished second 30 times in PGA Tour tournaments, accumulated more than $43 million in tournament winnings and won one of the Big 4 majors, the 1997 PGA Championship.
But it is his rural getaway where Love enjoys avoiding the spotlight, shooting his bow and guns, fishing, sitting on the porch or by the fire, good barbecue, and spending time with his family and friends.
“The golf world, it’s so far from reality,” Love said in this 2008 Garden & Gun profile. “Getting back here, riding the tractor around, having a list of chores to do, carrying the firewood, building a fire. This is where I can turn back to more of who I am.”
News of the decision of Love as captain brought high attention in the golf world, of course, notably for Love’s selection over popular choice Fred Couples. Also, for the fact Love guided the U.S. team in its 2012 loss at Medinah. The Telegraph in London called it an “extraordinary decision” and “hugely unexpected outcome.” Golf.com asks fans if it’s the right decision after the PGA’s “task force” debated who should guide the squad.
Veteran writer and Golf Channel analyst Damon Hack tweeted: @damonhack Davis Love III getting second go as @RyderCupUSA captain shows his standing w players and the @pgaofamerica. Love is a consensus builder.
When the Ryder Cup is over in September 2016, Love may have a tournament or two remaining on his schedule to play. He puts on the McGladrey Classic each November for his Davis Love Foundation, and it’s one of the more popular events on the tour schedule. But the deer woods and spring turkey woods will be calling, and Love won’t be too far from getting in them.
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