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Davis Love III

United States · born , Charlotte, North Carolina, USA

1major championship

Summary

  • First major 1997 PGA Championship
  • Ryder Cup 6 Cups · 9-12-5 · 11.5 points (44.2%)
  • Ryder Cup captain 2012, 2016
  • Runner-up in majors 3 times

Wins

  1. 1997 PGA Championship Winged Foot Golf Club (West) · 269 (-11) · by 5 strokes from Justin Leonard

Near misses

  1. 1995 The Masters Augusta National Golf Club · runner-up to Ben Crenshaw · 275
  2. 1996 U.S. Open Oakland Hills C.C. · runner-up to Steve Jones
  3. 1997 The Open Royal Troon Golf Club (Old Course) · finished T10 · 282 (-2)
  4. 1998 The Open Royal Birkdale Golf Club · finished 8 · 285 (+5)
  5. 1999 The Masters Augusta National Golf Club · runner-up to Jose Maria Olazabal · 282
  6. 1999 The Open Carnoustie Golf Links (Championship Course) · finished T7 · 294 (+10)
  7. 2003 The Open Royal St George's Golf Club · finished T4 · 285 (+1)
  8. 2004 The Open Royal Troon Golf Club (Old Course) · finished T5 · 279 (-5)
  9. 2011 The Open Royal St George's Golf Club · finished T9 · 282 (+2)

Ryder Cup

6 Cups, 26 matches: 9 won, 12 lost, 5 halved, 11.5 points. Foursomes 3-5-1, four-ball 3-6-2, singles 3-1-2.

  1. 1993 The Belfry (Brabazon Course) USA · USA won 15–13 · 2-2-0, 2 points · automatic
  2. 1995 Oak Hill Country Club (East Course) USA · Europe won 14.5–13.5 · 3-2-0, 3 points · automatic
  3. 1997 Valderrama Golf Club USA · Europe won 14.5–13.5 · 0-4-0, 0 points · automatic
  4. 1999 The Country Club (Championship/Composite Course) USA · USA won 14.5–13.5 · 1-0-3, 2.5 points · automatic
  5. 2002 The Belfry (Brabazon Course) USA · Europe won 15.5–12.5 · 2-1-1, 2.5 points · automatic
  6. 2004 Oakland Hills Country Club (South Course) USA · Europe won 18.5–9.5 · 1-3-1, 1.5 points · automatic
  7. 2012 Captain USA · lost 13.5–14.5
  8. 2016 Captain USA · won 17–11

Rivals

Beat him

Ryder Cup partners

Ryder Cup opponents

Next in the chain: Ben Crenshaw's rivals →

Moments

  1. 1997 PGA Championship Davis Love III won by five and became the sixth son of a PGA Professional to win the PGA Championship.
  2. 1997 PGA Championship Love led the field in driving distance at 307 yards and finished third in putting at Winged Foot.

Results by championship

    Best day

    1997 PGA Championship

    Winged Foot Golf Club (West), Mamaroneck, New York · 269 (-11) · by 5 strokes from Justin Leonard

    Davis Love III won by five and became the sixth son of a PGA Professional to win the PGA Championship.

    Love led the field in driving distance at 307 yards and finished third in putting at Winged Foot.

    Chosen by rule: his widest winning margin in a major. Year page: 1997.

    Career line, 1993–2011

    Masters
    1995 Masters: runner-up to Ben Crenshaw1999 Masters: runner-up to Jose Maria Olazabal
    PGA Championship
    1997 PGA Championship: won
    U.S. Open
    1996 U.S. Open: runner-up to Steve Jones
    The Open
    1997 The Open: finished T101998 The Open: finished 81999 The Open: finished T72003 The Open: finished T42004 The Open: finished T52011 The Open: finished T9
    Ryder Cup
    1993 Ryder Cup (USA): 2-2-01995 Ryder Cup (USA): 3-2-01997 Ryder Cup (USA): 0-4-01999 Ryder Cup (USA): 1-0-32002 Ryder Cup (USA): 2-1-12004 Ryder Cup (USA): 1-3-1
    1995200020052010

    16 results. Hover or tap a mark; click it for the year.

    • Major win
    • Runner-up
    • Top 10
    • Ryder Cup, USA

    Davis Love III was born on April 13, 1964, in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA. Love won one major championship: the 1997 PGA Championship. Love played in 6 Ryder Cups for USA (1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2002, 2004), winning 9, losing 12 and halving 5 of 26 matches for 11.5 points, and captained the side in 2012 and 2016.

    See Davis Love III in our rooms: The Masters, U.S. Open, The Open, Greatest Golfer by State and Every Ground.

    Cards you pull this visit stack here. Tap one to go back to it.

    The record

    Wins in the majors (1)

    1. 1997 PGA Championship Winged Foot Golf Club (West), Mamaroneck, New York · 269 (-11) · by 5 strokes from Justin Leonard

    Near misses

    Top-10 finishes are listed for The Open, the one championship with a full top 10 every year.

    1. 1995 The Masters Augusta National Golf Club · runner-up to Ben Crenshaw · 275
    2. 1996 U.S. Open Oakland Hills C.C. · runner-up to Steve Jones
    3. 1997 The Open Royal Troon Golf Club (Old Course) · finished T10 · 282 (-2)
    4. 1998 The Open Royal Birkdale Golf Club · finished 8 · 285 (+5)
    5. 1999 The Masters Augusta National Golf Club · runner-up to Jose Maria Olazabal · 282
    6. 1999 The Open Carnoustie Golf Links (Championship Course) · finished T7 · 294 (+10)
    7. 2003 The Open Royal St George's Golf Club · finished T4 · 285 (+1)
    8. 2004 The Open Royal Troon Golf Club (Old Course) · finished T5 · 279 (-5)
    9. 2011 The Open Royal St George's Golf Club · finished T9 · 282 (+2)

    U.S. Open top-10 finishes in his career: 5 (GNN U.S. Open room data).

    Ryder Cup

    Love played 6 Ryder Cups for USA: 26 matches, 9 won, 12 lost, 5 halved, 11.5 points (44.2% of those available). By format: foursomes 3-5-1, four-ball 3-6-2, singles 3-1-2 (won-lost-halved). Vice-captain: 2010; 2018; 2021; 2023.

    1. 1993 The Belfry (Brabazon Course) USA · USA won 15–13 · 2-2-0, 2 points · automatic
    2. 1995 Oak Hill Country Club (East Course) USA · Europe won 14.5–13.5 · 3-2-0, 3 points · automatic
    3. 1997 Valderrama Golf Club USA · Europe won 14.5–13.5 · 0-4-0, 0 points · automatic
    4. 1999 The Country Club (Championship/Composite Course) USA · USA won 14.5–13.5 · 1-0-3, 2.5 points · automatic
    5. 2002 The Belfry (Brabazon Course) USA · Europe won 15.5–12.5 · 2-1-1, 2.5 points · automatic
    6. 2004 Oakland Hills Country Club (South Course) USA · Europe won 18.5–9.5 · 1-3-1, 1.5 points · automatic
    7. 2012 Captain USA · lost 13.5–14.5
    8. 2016 Captain USA · won 17–11

    Partners, with matches played together: Tom Kite (3), Fred Couples (3), Tiger Woods (3), Jeff Maggert (2), David Duval (2), Ben Crenshaw (1), Phil Mickelson (1), Payne Stewart (1), Justin Leonard (1), Chad Campbell (1), Fred Funk (1), Stewart Cink (1).

    Sources

    Every fact on this page comes from Golf Network News data sets compiled in October 2026 (Masters, PGA Championship, The Open, U.S. Women's Open, Ryder Cup, PGA Tour 2024–2026, major host sites, Champions Dinner menus, and the U.S. Open and state rooms). These are the sources those rows cite.

    1. where2golf
    2. Golf Compendium PGA Tour career wins
    3. Golf Compendium winners list
    4. WP: List of American Ryder Cup golfers
    5. rydercup.com — link no longer works (checked October 17, 2026): https://rydercup.com/news-media/usa/ryder-cup-team-usa-past-captains
    6. Golf Compendium
    7. Golf Compendium
    8. Golf Compendium 1997
    9. Today's Golfer past champions
    10. BetMGM winner payouts
    11. Today's Golfer purse history
    12. PGA of America club pros who made the cut
    13. PGA of America 1997 leaderboard
    14. PGA of America 2013 media guide, p. 33
    15. PGA of America 2012 media guide, p. 148
    16. OWGR player event table, 1997
    17. Sports Illustrated 1997
    18. R&A 1997
    19. R&A 1998
    20. R&A 1999
    21. R&A 2003
    22. R&A 2004
    23. R&A 2011
    24. GC: 1993 ryder cup
    25. Wikipedia: 1993 Ryder Cup
    26. GC: 1995 ryder cup
    27. Deseret News 1995
    28. Wikipedia: 1995 Ryder Cup
    29. Golf Channel
    30. GC: 1997 ryder cup
    31. SI Vault 1997 — link no longer works (checked October 17, 2026): https://vault.si.com/vault/1997/08/25/you-da-man-lee-janzen-made-tom-kites-job-as-captain-a-little-easier-by-proving-with-his-play-at-winged-foot-that-he-belonged-on-the-ryder-cup-team
    32. Wikipedia: 1997 Ryder Cup
    33. GC: 1999 ryder cup
    34. Wikipedia: 1999 Ryder Cup
    35. CBS News 1999
    36. GC: 2002 ryder cup
    37. SI Vault 2001 — link no longer works (checked October 17, 2026): https://vault.si.com/vault/2001/08/27/tough-calls-picking-the-ryder-cup-wild-cards-was-a-difficult-job-but-somebody-namely-curtis-strange-had-to-do-it
    38. Deseret News 2001
    39. GC: 2004 ryder cup
    40. Golf Channel 2004
    41. Wikipedia: 2004 Ryder Cup