The Open: Davis Love eyes Ryder playing spot

By MARTIN DEMPSTER
Published on 19/07/2012 00:00

DAVIS Love, who is “rooting” for Paul Lawrie to qualify for the European team, is still hoping to make the American side for this year’s Ryder Cup and has already talked about handing the captaincy over to Fred Couples in such an eventuality.

It’s a long shot as the six-time Ryder Cup player reckons he needs two wins between now and the USPGA Championship next month, but Love has recorded three top-20 finishes in his last five events on the PGA Tour and is feeling confident heading into The Open.

“I need a couple of wins to get up on the Ryder Cup points list and this would be a great place to do it,” said the 48-year-old, who is making his 26th successive appearance in this week’s event and describes it as “the biggest championship in the world”.

He added: “If I keep hitting it the way I am, then maybe I can make the team. I have given it a lot of thought and the closer I get the more I realise that I’m probably not going to be able to play and be captain.

“What keeps it going is having a good week. At Memphis (in the St Jude Classic), I was right up there on the leaderboard and everybody starts talking about it again. If it was anybody else, they wouldn’t talk about the guy who is 48th or whatever I am in the Ryder Cup points list.

“But every time I get my name on the board they say: ‘He’s going to make his own team!’ That’s the goal. My goals just now are to win the Open Championship, make the FedEx Championship, win that and make the Ryder Cup team.

“I am excited about how I am playing and I would love nothing better than to win a couple of tournaments, make my team and then hand the captaincy over to Fred Couples (a two-time winning captain in the Presidents Cup and one of his assistants for the match at Medinah along with Mike Hulbert).”

The eight automatic spots will be filled after the USPGA Championship at Kiawah Island, with Love then having to hand out four wild cards - two more than European counterpart Jose Maria Olazabal.

Asked if he would consider picking himself, Love, who has been delighted to see the first two majors this year won by potential members of his team – Bubba Watson (Masters) and Webb Simpson (US Open) – said: “No. That’s too much pressure. If you pick yourself that is an incredible amount of pressure. You really have to perform.”

Lawrie has certainly performed over the past year or so. Helped by a win in the Qatar Masters earlier this year, the Aberdonian is on course to bridge a 13-year gap – his one and only appearance in the match was at Brookline in 1999 – by playing in the Ryder Cup again this year.

“It would be great,” said Love when asked what sort of achievement that would be by the 1999 Open champion. “I have been watching Paul play well in the last couple of years and I have been paired with him this week so hopefully the both of us can keep the momentum going. It would be very exciting.

“He is a great guy and we have gotten to be friends from being paired together quite a bit over the years. He is one of the guys on their team that I am rooting for, that I want to make it. It would great for the game and great for the Ryder Cup if he did make it.”