Davis Love III chosen as USA Ryder Cup captain
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Dipping into its past, the U.S. Ryder Cup team anointed Davis Love III for a return engagement for the 2016 tussle with Europe.
Eyeing its future, however, nothing will be the same.
"I'm here with the same goal I had in 2012 but not as the same captain," said Love, who was officially named captain Tuesday at PGA of America headquarters just down the street from the Honda Classic. "It's a new team building model that comes from being given an opportunity by the PGA of America to come together and use all of our veteran experience to build a new team culture and consistent plan for the future. … Our team will trust each other and we will have a shared vision.
" … I don't think that we have to make massive changes. We have to make some small changes that add up to half a point here or half a point there."
Love, who played in the Ryder Cup six times, served as captain in 2012 when Europe staged a historical comeback to win 14½-13½.
The U.S., which has lost six of seven and the last three, is coming off a 16½-11½ whipping in Scotland last year. Following that loss, an 11-man task force was formed in October to look at all things Ryder Cup.
Love was a member of the task force, along with Tiger Woods, Raymond Floyd, Phil Mickelson, Steve Stricker, Jim Furyk, Tom Lehman and Rickie Fowler. Working from a blank sheet of paper, the task force came up with many changes. A new captain was not one of them.
Mickelson said it was not Love's idea to be the captain. But in the end he was the one man that was the clear choice.
"We wanted somebody that is well-liked and respected who does not have such a strong ego to where he won't listen to a number of different viewpoints," Mickelson said. "But also, he's going to be under a lot of scrutiny so somebody that is confident enough to take on the scrutiny that comes about in 2016.
"When you look at how unselfish he is, when you look at how much he's willing to take the hits but give other people the credit. And you look at laying a blueprint for the next 20 years and building the foundation for the future Ryder Cups and the continuity from year to year, passing on that knowledge, sharing that knowledge of being involved in the next Ryder Cup and the Cup after that, there's nobody who is as unselfish, there's nobody who can take the hits, who can pass the credit who has past experience to work off of. If those are all the things you want, there's only one guy that fits that bill."
Added Woods: "I have great respect for him as a person, player and captain. I know he'll do an outstanding job leading the 2016 U.S. team."
Getting to that team that will play at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn., will be new. The task force changes:
— There will be four vice-captains composed of two former captains and two people who have extensive Ryder Cup experience. Former Ryder Cup captain Tom Lehman was named a vice-captain on Tuesday.
— All U.S. players will earn points based upon the following criteria starting in 2015; for the four major championships, 1 point per $1,000 earned; for the four World Golf Championships and The Players Championship, 1 point for every $2,000 earned. In 2016, each player earns 2 points for every $1,000 in the four majors and 1 point per $1,000 earned in the other Tour events.
—Eight of the 12 members of the team will be named on points earned following the conclusion of The Barclays, which is two weeks later than in the past. A new timetable for the captain's picks was announced, too. Three of the four picks will be announced after the conclusion of the BMW Championship, affording an extra two weeks for the decisions. And the final captain's pick will be made at the conclusion of the Tour Championship the following week.
"I am really excited for the team because we all know Davis is a competitor, we all know his resume, and we all know his passion for the Ryder Cup," said Zach Johnson, who has played on the losing end of Ryder Cups in 2006, 2010, 2012 and 2014. "But more than that, we know what kind of guy he is. We know what he can do as a leader. He's a guy who lets us go play and he's thorough and everything is well thought out.
"Davis put us in a position to win the Ryder Cup on Sunday and we lost it as a team. Davis is one of the guys who keeps it simple. We don't need a rah-rah motivational guy to get us going to play the Ryder Cup."