The Golf Watch

Top players Johnson, Love, Glover to console Byrd

Craig DeVrieze called it "the luck of the draw."

After their early morning tee times Thursday at the John Deere Classic, Zach Johnson, Davis Love III, Lucas Glover and Charles Warren will hop on a private jet to Columbia, S.C. to attend visitation services for Jim Byrd, father of their good friend Jonathan Byrd.

Byrd passed away Monday after battling a brain tumor for more than a year. 

"It probably won’t be long before Love is on that stage, perhaps as early as next year"

Doug Ferguson offered one of the few wrap-ups of the final PGA Tour event of the year in Disney.  Ferguson makes the point that now that Davis Love III has won his 20th career PGA Tour event (making him a lifelong member), it might be sooner rather than later that he is inducted into the hall of fame...

It probably won’t be long before Love is on that stage, perhaps as early as next year.

Love received 19 percent of the votes on the PGA Tour ballot this year, eighth place in the voting and far short of the 65 percent needed for election. The only difference between now and then is a victory across the street from the Magic Kingdom.

It gave him more than $828,000, a two-year exemption and a trip to Kapalua for the winners-only Mercedes-Benz Championship.

More than anything, it gave him 20 victories.

Love receives Payne Stewart award

Earlier today, Davis Love III was crowned with the Payne Stewart Award--an honor bestowed upon a player who respects the traditions of the game, supports charities, and presents oneself in a professional manner.  Love said:

I have a Players Championship trophy and a Wannamaker Trophy [for the PGA Championship], and this will be the third that I keep in my house, for sure.  Sea Island [Golf Club] has a lot of my trophies in a nice trophy room. I’ve held a couple of them back, and this will be one that I hold back for sure.

Love, Harrington return to PGA Tour this week

Two of the most recognizable faces in golf are returning to the PGA Tour this week at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.  Davis Love III, a two-time winner at Pebble Beach, had surgery last fall to repair torn tendons in his left ankle.  Love will be making his first apperance since the Deutsche Bank Championship last September, where he missed the cut. "I'm eager to get back into competition and get this year started," said Love.  Padraig Harrington will also be making his first appearance on the PGA Tour this week.  The reigning British Open champ hasn't played competitively on tour since the Tour Championship in September, but did play in Tiger Woods' Target World Challenge in December.  Harrington contracted shingles last week, but said he is feeling healthy again. 

Rosaforte: Love's target date is AT&T at Pebble Beach

Tim Rosaforte reported on Sunday's Sprint Pre Game that Davis Love III is still recovering from major ankle surgery and is looking to start a full practice schedule in January.  Love's goal is to return for the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in early February, which he has won twice before. "I talked to Davis last night," said Rosaforte.  "And he was kind of laughing that both him and Freddy (Couples) are going for comeback player of the year next year." 

Gorant: Love has a major problem

According to his official website, Davis Love III will not play any golf for a minimum of eight weeks due to a severe left-ankle injury.  This means that he is done for the 2007 season, and will have some work to do to extend his tour-leading streak of consecutive majors played (70).  Love is ranked 51st in the world, and needs to be inside the top-50 in order to be invited to The Masters in '08.  Jim Gorant, a Senior Editor at Sports Illustrated, writes, "To get into the Masters, Love will need to win one of the early-season events (in 2008) or get back into the top 50 by the end of March.  The odds are against him because he's coming off a year in which he had only three top 10s and he's 82nd on the money list, guaranteeing his worst finish ever."  Love is still expected to play in the Target World Challenge in December. 

Love III withdraws from Viking Classic

Davis Love III will not be competing this week at the Viking Classic in Mississippi due to an injured ankle.  Love stepped into a hole at his daughter's horse show and was scheduled to have an MRI on Monday.  Last month, Love withdrew from the Wyndham Championship due to a doctor's recommendation to remove kidney stones.   

Love back on track

Tim Rosaforte reported on Golf Central earlier tonight that Davis Love III is already back to hitting balls.  Love's procedure on Friday was a success and he will be ready for the FedEx Cup playoffs next week. 

Love III withdraws from Wyndham Championship

Defending champion Davis Love III withdrew earlier this afternoon from the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, North Carolina due to a doctor's recommendation to remove kidney stones that have caused pain for the past month.  Love will rest for the next week and says that he will be ready for the first event in the FedEx Cup playoffs, the Barclays in nine days.  Love's withdrawal means there will only be three top-50 players in North Carolina this week, Anders Hansen (40), John Senden (47), and Carl Pettersson (48).  The 19-time PGA Tour winner re-designed Forest Oaks where the tournament is held this week.   

Love has different look on golf course

John Antonini writes on the Golf Digest Local Knowledge blog, "Davis Love III's secret came out at the AT&T National: He has been wearing glasses for the last several months on tour. Love was having headaches and thought it was because of his neck injury, but he found out he needed glasses after seeing an eye doctor after Colonial."  Love has been wearing prescription sunglasses on the course, and at the AT&T National, he wore his regular glasses while it was overcast.   The 19-time PGA Tour winner has struggled this year with three missed cuts in his last three tournaments and only two top-10 performances this season.  Love is playing this week at the British Open.