PINEHURST – Part of Davis Love III’s youth was spend here at Pinehurst and that’s had people asking him all week whether he should be considered the favorite based on local knowledge.
Love’s answer is a resounding – though polite – no.
“Nobody has an advantage when it’s set up for a U.S. Open,” Love said. “I don’t think sentiment is going to save you any strokes or knowledge of the golf course, because it’s set up for the U.S. Open. Playing in the U.S. Open levels the playing field, turns it more into a patience test.”
Love’s roots are deep here, with his late father, Davis Love Jr., having been a teaching pro here. Love has won a number of prestigious tournaments on these grounds, but he believes the U.S. Open setup negates any local tips he has in his head.
Asked if anyone has an advantage going in, Love said, “Tom Lehman was in the last group the last four Opens. He has an advantage maybe because of that. Tiger Woods has won his last two tournaments. Maybe he has an advantage because of that.
“You can point to whatever you want,” Love went on. “It all boils down to who is more patient and who is more focused and who makes the most putts for par, who hangs in there. I don’t think in a U.S. Open you can give anybody a clear advantage. I’m going to be more excited than somebody who grew up in California that’s never been here, just like I’ll be more excited at the Masters maybe, than a guy from Europe who didn’t grow up looking at that golf course dreaming about playing it.”
Love, who grew up in Georgia and played at the University of North Carolina before turning pro, is a clear-cut local favorite on the grounds.
“If I listen and read very much more I’ll think that I lived here,” Love joked. “I have played here a few times – the NCAAs and the North/South [amateur] Tournament, and I played a few rounds here as a kid with my dad doing the Golf Digest Schools here.
“I played the No. 4 course probably more than any, but it’s covered up with tents [for the tournament], so there goes my advantage.
“This is a special U.S. Open and a special place,” Love continued. “This was my favorite place to come as a kid. I’m excited to see my friends, to see old places, to eat breakfast in the Pinecrest. That makes this more special than other Opens for me.”
Love, who has the 1997 PGA Championship to his credit, has been pressing to win a second major. He’s an annual threat at the Masters, having a runner-up and two ties for seventh in the last four years to his credit.
He, too, has been a factor at U.S. Opens, having tied for second in 1996 and fourth in 1995. Last year, however, he missed the cut, which was devastating to him.
