Davis Love III currently sits in the clubhouse after 2 rounds at the US Open with a -1 for the tournament. Very impressive for a 23 year professional, but perhaps what is more impressive is the path that he took to get there.
It all started last September when he tore the ligaments in his ankle when he stepped in a hole while playing a casual round of golf. The injury caused him to miss the rest of the 2007, leaving him at 81st on the Money List (his lowest finish in his career) and dropped him out of the Top 50 in the World Rankings for the first time in 17 years.
Davis took four months to get himself back on track and into tournament play, debuting Feb. 7th at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am. He knew that he had not qualified yet for the Masters so he need to either improve his World Golf Ranking from 78, up into the Top 50, or win one of his upcoming tournaments. In the 7 tournaments he played including Pebble Beach, he missed 3 cuts and his best finish was 24th at Pebble.
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He hadn't qualified for the Masters, and his streak, the longest active, that had lasted 70 Majors starting with the 1990 US Open was over.
Over his next three tournaments, his struggles continued as he finished 36th, missed the cut and 54th, leading up to the Memorial. He still hadn't qualified for the US Open and had schedule his sectional qualifier for June 2nd, the day after the Memorial Tournament that he was playing in.
He struggled through four days at the Memorial finishing 60th, but more importantly he still needed to qualify for the US Open. He played 36 holes on Monday and his quest to return to the US Open was completed that afternoon with an invitation to play at Torrey Pines.
So now 10 months after surgery, 6 months after getting back on the tournament schedule and 2 weeks since qualifying for the US Open, Davis Love III sits in the clubhouse on Friday at -1, and currently in a tie for third at the time of this writing.
Could Davis Love III, a US golfing great, be the feel good story of the Father's Day Weekend?
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6 months ago
Thank you for writing about another great PGA player and his story. DLIII is a fantastic role model for your kids and has had some huge obstacles in his life that he overcame to be where he is. A life winner whether he ever wins a golf tournament again.
from 6 months ago
Thanks for the comments, and he truly is a great role model and golfer, one of those guys that does all the right things
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