Davis Love III to reach 100 majors played at PGA Championship

ST. LOUIS – A gallon of gas was 89 cents, Crocodile Dundee was a hit at the box office, and Mike Tyson became the youngest heavyweight champion in history. A lot of things happened in 1986, so you get a pass if you missed Davis Love III finishing T47 at his first major, the PGA Championship at Inverness Club. No one could have known it was the start of a historic run; he will play in his 100th major this week at the PGA Championship at Bellerive Country Club. Only 14 players have ever hit the century mark. “Another reminder that you’re getting older and you played for a long, long time,â€� said Love, 54, who will also be making his 757th PGA TOUR start this week. “But I’ve been blessed to play this long. When you think about it, if you played all four of them for 25 years, that’s pretty incredible, and I spread it out over a little bit longer than that.

“But I’m excited to be in another one,â€� added Love, who finished T10 in his U.S. Senior Open debut this summer. “I’ve been working hard this summer to get ready to play again after another injury, but to get ready to play in the only major I knew I was in this year and compete. And then obviously next week’s been a great week for me (at the Wyndham Championship) on TOUR, so I’m looking forward to this week and next week and getting back out there and competing.â€� Most majors played all-time Love is a 21-time TOUR champion whose career high point came with his two victories at THE PLAYERS Championship and 1997 victory at the PGA Championship. Recent years have seen him take on a leadership role with the U.S. Ryder Cup, and try to fight through injuries to play as much as possible. Left ankle surgery. Right foot surgery. Left hip surgery. Neck surgery. Some of these have been a product of age, some bad luck (he stepped in a hole while playing golf in 2007), and some because he refuses to give up snowboarding. But he can still mix it up with the kids, especially when he’s healthy. “I would like to compete in some more majors,â€� said Love, who finished T33 at the ’92 PGA at Bellerive, won by Nick Price. “I don’t want to just play. If I feel like I’m just showing up to catch Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer, I wouldn’t do that. But if I feel like I can compete and have some fun and not get in the way, I would love to keep competing and break that record.â€� He has a long way to go, as Nicklaus, with 164 major starts, tops the list. Sam Snead was the oldest to win on TOUR; he was 52 years, 10 months, 8 days old when he captured the 1965 Greater Greensboro Open. In pursuit of that record, Love is also aiming for another one: Mark Brooks has the most TOUR starts with 802, which is only 46 ahead of Love. “That’s the guy I’m gunning for,â€� Love said. “I would like to try to hang in there long enough to get over 800 PGA TOUR starts and pass Jay Haas (799 starts) and Mark Brooks.â€�

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