Davis Love III Q&A: On missing the Masters, being ‘amazed’ by Tiger’s return and his favorite Augusta delicacy
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Davis Love III has been to a Topgolf, but he’s never actually hit balls at one before. That’s not too surprising seeing as the Hall of Famer’s resume includes a major championship, 21-time PGA Tour wins and two stints as the U.S. Ryder Cup captain.
But Love knows how important the driving range game has been in getting more fans involved in golf, and he’ll help the cause on Saturday by appearing at the Legends Party on Saturday, April 9, at Topgolf Augusta (where tickets are still available).
“It’s a verb, it is its own sport. People like the social side of it. They like hitting balls. It’s a cool place,” Love said of Topgolf. “A lot have never been on a golf course, they just go to Topgolf. So I’m excited to get over there and hang out.”
Golfweek spent some time with Love — who was born the day after his father competed in the 1964 Masters — to talk all things Masters and Augusta National. Here are the highlights:
When you look back on your Masters career, what stands out?
Davis Love III lines up his putt on the 10th with his caddy, brother Mark Love, during the final round of the Masters at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga., Sunday, April 9, 1995. Love made a birdie on the hole.
Love: “I was just very lucky to get to play there that many times … I miss it. My last one was 2016. I love watching Freddie Couples and Tiger and those guys that I’ve played with for so long, I love watching them play this week but there’s still that hint of, ‘Golly, I wish I was playing,’ even though the course is probably too long for me and Fred but it’s just a great, a big part of my life. My dad took me over there from Atlanta when I was a kid and we watched, he introduced me to players, we sat in, I guess you call them observation platforms, we’d watch guys hit balls and watch guys play.
“People always ask me, ‘Why do you play so well at Hilton Head?’ and I go, ‘Because it’s the week after the Masters.’ I never really pulled it off to play great there, I’ve had a couple of close calls, but my really good weeks ended up being at the Players or Greensboro or Hilton Head — all around the Masters — because that’s what you base your whole winter on, getting ready for the Masters.”
Favorite Masters story?
David Duval watches the ball in flight after teeing off with Davis Love III and Fred Couples watching at the Augusta National Golf Course during the 1999 Masters. Mandatory Credit: File Photo -The Augusta Chronicle via USA TODAY NETWORK
Love: “I have some great ones where my kids caddied for me in the Par 3 Contest and my daughter carried the bag, but my granddaughter walked with the little outfit on, just my family being a part of so many Masters.
“I don’t know, I finished second to Crenshaw in ‘95 after I won in New Orleans to get in at the last minute. I just loved being a part of it. I played with Ben in New Orleans, Harvey Penick dies on Sunday, Ben’s playing terrible, then comes back the next week to win. I was hot that spring and then he beat me and called me from Augusta National Sunday night after he’d had dinner. Obviously, it’s before cell phones, my phone rings and it’s Ben Crenshaw calling from the clubhouse to tell me how lucky he was and how fortunate he was, and I’m like, ‘I know, Ben,’ I shot one of the lowest numbers ever at the Masters not to win but I was happy for him. Ben was a mentor of mine and still a good friend, to be a part of that, my dad played for Harvey Penick, that whole story is probably my favorite and most disappointing Masters memory.”
Best advice to handle the course and handle the nerves?
Davis Love, III, (l), gives or gets some pointers from former Masters champion, Jack Nicklaus, (r), on Tuesday at the Augusta National Golf Club in 2001. Mandatory Credit: Eileen Blass/USA TODAY NETWORK
Love: “You gotta go in with an attitude like Tiger does or Jack Nicklaus did, like, ‘This is my place.’ There’s so many less distractions, as far as outside distractions. There’s obviously the expectations, but it’s a calm place. Jack and the superstars, they like it because when they get inside the gates and inside the ropes, they’re even more protected than normal. And I think you have to get in there and realize that the best players relish the fact that they have an advantage. Everything is set up for great players to succeed at the Masters. You have to just go in there and play and be tactical about it.
“Jack just took golf courses apart mentally and physically, played to the right positions, and we saw that with Tiger (Thursday). He was out of position to make a bunch of birdies, but when he put it back in play he was always in a place where you can make par. I think you just have to accept that the golf course is a little bit different. You’ve got to go in there and relax and play the golf course and not try to win the Masters.
“You have to try to make it your comfortable place rather than an intimidating place. If you go in there and think Masters history and green jackets and all that stuff, you’re never going to be successful.”
What did you make of Tiger's first round and yet another comeback?
Team USA captain Davis Love III greets Team USA vice-captain Tiger Woods on the 18th hole during the afternoon four-ball matches in the 41st Ryder Cup at Hazeltine National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports
Love: “The Ryder Cup family of captains, assistant captains, Presidents Cup captains and assistant captains, we’ve really become a close, tight-knit group. In ‘97 or 2007, I would have never said that I would have a group of guys, Stricker, Tom Lehman, now Zach Johnson, a bunch of us that are close friends with Tiger Woods. We rely on him and he relies on us in this captaincy elder statesman category.
“I remember going to the ‘93 Ryder Cup and I’d go, ‘Watson and Floyd and Kite disappeared into some room. Where did they go?’ And now we’re those guys that disappear into the room and Daniel Berger’s going, ‘What’s going on? Where did the captains go?’ For Tiger to be a part of that now, it’s just incredible.
I know a lot more than most people about what he’s been through. I would have bet you, even at the Hall of Fame ceremony, I saw him and talked to him, I would have bet you that he wasn’t gonna play. That’s how incredible he is, he’s like Superman. The only thing that can stop him is garlic. He’s allergic to garlic. And that’s the only way to keep him from playing would be to sneak some garlic into his breakfast. In the weeks before the Ryder Cup, he could barely walk on crutches. He can’t come to something he really wanted to be a part of in fear of hurting himself and not being able to ever walk again. And here he is teeing it up.
“I’m just amazed like everybody else. I’m a Tiger Woods fan. Plus, I know the guy. And as a fan, I’m just thrilled for him that he’s playing.”
I did some damage on my wallet in the merch building the other day. Have you ever let a little loose in the gift shop here?
Davis Love III teeing off on 18 with Steve Pate, caddies and spectators watching at the Augusta National Golf Course during the 1999 Masters. Mandatory Credit: File Photo -The Augusta Chronicle via USA TODAY NETWORK
Love: “Several times. The strategy of when to go was the big thing … But what I did, I knew that there was enough good stuff in the actual pro shop and we could get into the pro shop, so I would do my damage in the pro shop. I can’t remember, it was some caddie they were talking about on the radio and he was in the merchandise tent with his bib on and he was buying hats, and they said, ‘If you see this guy next week at Hilton Head and he’s wearing a Masters cap, he bought it.’
“My big thing is food. So I looked forward to friends of mine walking around in a practice round and buying a bunch of chicken sandwiches and giving them to our group in the fairway. That’s what I tried to say in my Hall of Fame speech, was my dad got low round of the day in the ‘64 Masters the first day and he got a crystal vase, and I got some of them from low rounds and they were exactly the same. Those traditions are why we love the Masters and why you would go there and buy a shirt, so when you go to Hilton Head and go to dinner, you’ve got your Masters shirt on. It’s just pretty cool. I love everything masters, and the only reason this weekend that I would go to the golf course probably would be to go in the shop.
“If I saw Tiger play that’s a bonus, but I might use my badge just to go shop.”
Pimento cheese: thumbs up or thumbs down?
Davis Love III at Southern Soul in St. Simons Island, Ga. (Adam Schupak/Golfweek)
Love: “Thumbs up. We have a couple of restaurants I’m involved in in St. Simons and last Masters we did a special of the week, we did a DLIII Pimento Cheeseburger at one of our restaurants and now it’s one of our top sellers. Everybody knows I like pimento cheese.”
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