Love Trumps Love: DL3 Leads DL4 By 11

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Davis Love III, a 53-year-old Hall of Fame inductee, has struggled badly on the PGA Tour in 2017. In seven events this season, Love III has a T41 a T61 and five missed cuts, forgivable considering his age, but still unquestionably disappointing for the former Ryder Cup Captain.

 
In the first round of the Greenbrier Classic, however, Love III looked decades younger, shooting a bogey-free 7-under 63, and is just one stroke out of the lead after 18 holes in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.

One of the big storylines this week is the inclusion of both Davis Love III, and is son Davis Love IV, who goes by the name ‘Dru’.

This is the first time they have both been in a tournament field where DL3 was not a tournament host. In round one, father destroyed son, as a bogey, bogey, double-bogey finish lead to a 4-over 74 finish for DL4, 11 strokes behind his father.


Bullets

  • Quick Start: Davis Love III got off to an incredible start at the Greenbrier Classic. He birdied four of his first five holes on his way to a 7-under 63, which has him in second place after the opening-round. The only man he trails, Colombia’s Sebastian Munoz, is 29 years younger.
  • Historic Possibilities: If Love III is able to go on and win this tournament, he will become the oldest winner in PGA Tour history. He already became the third oldest in 2015, when he was the surprise winner at the Wyndham Championship.
  • Son Struggles: Love III’s son, Dru, who Davis caddied for at the U.S. Open last month, was not as fortunate. After a round-one 74 which included four bogeys, a double, and one eagle, the younger Love will need an incredible round on Friday just to make the cut.
  • Fine Scrambling: Love III’s tremendous round came in spite of hitting just 9/14 fairways, which ranked 99th in the field, and 13/18 fairways, which tied for 58th.
  • Meaningless Stat?: The younger Love was actually fourth in the field in strokes gained: off-the-tee, but was poor in nearly every other part of his game.

Quotable

“I’ve been working really hard the last couple weeks on trying to fix my swing to kind of swing around a stiff back and stiff hip. I put a lot of time into hitting balls and trying to get back to hitting it solid. I’ve given up on hitting it a long way. I’m just saying, ‘I’ve just got to hit it straight.’ This is a perfect golf course for me.”
Davis Love III


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