Wednesday 25 February 2015 07:43, UK
Davis Love made an instant impact on his Ryder Cup debut at The Belfry in 1993, teaming up with Tom Kite against the most successful pairing in the history of the competition.
Their 2&1 victory over Seve Ballesteros and Jose Maria Olazabal was a major shock in the opening session, although the tables were turned in the afternoon fourballs rematch as the Spaniards cruised to a 4&3 win.
In a bizarre coincidence, the same pairings met again on day two and Ballesteros and Olazabal again emerged triumphant, but Love atoned on Sunday in what proved to be the pivotal match of the entire contest.
The American was one down with two to play against fellow rookie Costantino Rocca, but the Italian buckled under the pressure and three-putted the 17th before failing to salvage a par at the last, where Love nailed a six-foot putt to secure overall victory for Tom Watson’s team.
Love also got off to a positive start in 1995 at Oak Hill, winning both his matches on the opening day before being brought down to earth by two crushing defeats on the Saturday – both when facing Rocca.
He was drawn against the Italian once more in the singles and again clinched a Sunday point, but it was not enough to prevent Bernard Gallacher’s inspired men snatching the Ryder Cup back in a thrilling climax.
Love arrived at Valderrama in 1997 fresh from his maiden major triumph at the US PGA Championship, but he endured the worst Ryder Cup performance of his career as he failed to win any of his four matches.
He lost twice in tandem with Fred Couples, including a 5&4 thrashing by Olazabal and Rocca, and Love was soundly beaten by Per-Ulrik Johansson in the second singles match on Sunday.
Winner at Brookline
Love also failed to win any of his three matches over the first two days at the Battle of Brookline two years later, although he did help to keep his side in the contest with three halves with three different partners – Payne Stewart, Justin Leonard and David Duval.
He then contributed to the relentless sea of red on the leaderboard on the final day, cruising to a comprehensive 6&5 victory over European rookie Jean van de Velde in the fourth match out as Ben Crenshaw’s side produced a sensational comeback marred by an unruly crowd and “that” incident on the 17th green.
Order was restored at The Belfry in 2002 and, after he and Duval were crushed by Sergio Garcia and Lee Westwood in the opening session, Love partnered Tiger Woods to a pair of wins on the second day.
But his singles encounter with Pierre Fulke ended in a bizarre half on the 18th fairway, when the pair – all square at the time – agreed on a sporting draw moments after the green ahead had been swamped following Paul McGinley’s memorable winning putt.
Love enjoyed the best season of his PGA Tour career in 2003, winning four times, and he qualified for Hal Sutton’s Ryder Cup team the following year ranked third behind Woods and Phil Mickelson.
But Love suffered two heavy defeats on the first day in Detroit and, although he partnered Stewart Cink to a surprise win over Padraig Harrington and Colin Montgomerie on Saturday morning, Love and Woods were outplayed by Harrington and McGinley in the afternoon foursomes.
Love’s final match as a player epitomised the sportsmanship that the Ryder Cup is designed to promote as he and close-friend Darren Clarke fought out an honourable half.
Sporting duel
The pair consistently congratulated each other for good shots, particularly when Clarke chipped in for an improbable birdie that squared the match on the 17th, and they then sat together behind the final green puffing on their favourite cigars as Europe romped to a record-breaking nine-point victory.
Considering Europe’s domination in recent memory, Love’s final record as a player reads better than most of his team-mates. In 26 matches, he won nine, lost 12 and halved five while losing only one of his six singles contests.
With his playing career winding down, Love served as an assistant captain to Corey Pavin at Celtic Manor in 2010, and he was named as captain for the 2012 contest at Medinah.
Love was hailed as a tactical genius over the first two days, with the pairing of Mickelson and rookie Keegan Bradley proving a stand-out decision as they recorded three wins out of three, and the home side appeared likely to canter to a convincing win when they went 10-4 up on the second afternoon.
The US skipper was also lauded for dropping the struggling Tiger Woods for the first time in his Ryder Cup career, and expectations of an American victory remained high even after Luke Donald and Ian Poulter inspired Europe to wins in the final two fourballs.
But 24 hours later, Love was a distraught and frustrated figure after Europe produced the greatest comeback in the competition’s history, with only Dustin and Zach Johnson and Jason Dufner putting red on the board for the hosts.
Love was made the scapegoat by the American media who were singing his praises after the first two days, although his players rallied around their forlorn captain and attempted to deflect the blame while also giving due credit to Olazabal’s team for their astonishing play in the singles.
Few would have predicted that Love would be invited to take on the role again after the traumas of Medinah, but the US Ryder Cup task force believe he is the best man to lead a team to victory for the first time since Paul Azinger wrestled the trophy from Europe’s grasp in 2008.
