Davis Love III walked up to the 72nd hole of the 1997 PGA Championship with his first elusive major championship in his grasp. He then made one of the most memorable putts I have ever witnessed. With a rainbow in the background, he rolled his ball into the hole and captured his first ever major championship. Winged Foot Country Club was the course he won it on, and at the time, DL3 was known as the best player in golf without a major. Since that victory, he has won six more tournaments on the PGA Tour, including a dominant win at The Players Championship in 2003. He won a total of five events in 2003, including the Target World Challenge in December of that year.
But what has happened to Davis Love III since his great year in 2003? He actually started 2004 off with a bang, the same way he did the previous year. But after placing in the top-10 in four out of the first five events in 2004, he really went in a “consistency” slump that still continues to this day. Since 1996, Davis has been in the top ten in the world rankings at the end of every year, including his inconsistent year last year.
He started 2005 off as the seventh best player in the world according to the world rankings but has fallen twice as low as that since then. As of last week, he was ranked 14th in the world, and that looks to be dropping as I write this. He is also currently in 29th place on the PGA Tour money list, which is way below his standards in recent years. He had a down year in 2002, but he still finished 21st on the money list.
It is not like he is playing bad golf week in and week out either. He has still managed to place in the top 10 at four of his nine events so far in 2005, but he hasn’t really been a major contender at any of those events. His best finish was a tie for second two weeks ago at the MCI Heritage, but he still finished a handful of shots behind winner Peter Lonard. Like I mentioned earlier, his main problem is his consistency. He has put himself near the top of the leaderboard going into the weekend at a couple events this year, but he has yet to have a good weekend to finish the deal. This past week at the Zurich Classic, he had it to -7 in the final round, only to end up at -3 and outside the top 30.
He has always been viewed as a solid iron player and decent player around the greens. His putting stats are very low this year compared to what they have been in the last decade. When players give away shots around the greens, they are eventually going to pay for it. His accuracy off the tee has never been very good compared to the rest of the tour players, and this year is no different. He is ranked 108th in this category but still remains number 19th in total driving. The statistics don’t necessarily show his struggles in the past two years, but his game definitely hasn’t prospered much as of late.
All the stats are fun to look at, but the public opinion also means a lot in the sport of golf. In the past, Davis Love III’s name was always mentioned as a contender for the four major championships throughout the year. I know I always had him on my list of players to watch week in and week out at the big events. Recently, this public opinion has seemed to change. His name definitely isn’t mentioned at the top of discussion anymore like it once was. The “Big Five” have a lot to do with that, as do the great crop of young players coming onto the scene like Adam Scott, Sergio Garcia, Luke Donald, etc. But DL3 is used to being a part of that big group near the top of the golf world.
Final Thought
I’m not real sure if it is the other players being so much better nowadays or Davis Love III just losing a step, but something is definitely different when it comes to the 41-year old. There is always a chance of him regaining his form and winning multiple times on tour, including another major championship or two. He has also had some family-related problems in the past couple years that can easily take the focus off the game of golf. Davis has been one of my favorites since I started watching in 1996, but it is time for him to either get his complete game back or fall back to the middle of the pack. Vijay Singh has proved players can win numerous times the older they get, so the age definitely isn’t much of a factor anymore.
Davis Love III was on the Hall of Fame ballot this year, but in my estimation, he still has some winning to do before he rightfully deserves a spot with the greatest golfers of all time. He has definitely left his mark on me as a fan, but I want to see him back in the top five in the world. And I’m sure there are many who would like to see the same thing. As it stands right now, and I hate to say this, I feel Davis is among a handful of players that I feel are “overrated.” I don’t think he is playing like the 14th best player in the world, and that is just my opinion on the matter.
Feel free to disagree or agree as always. I kind of took a shot at one of my favorites, but someone has to do it sometimes. If there are any opinions on this article, you can either post a comment below or contact me via email. Thanks for reading and have a great week of golf!
Photo Credit: © Andrew Davis Tucker/Augusta Chronicle.
I agree. DL3 is just a tad overrated. I can think of 10 other players who I consider better than him.
I’ve commented on your post on my blog.
Hey, I liked your write-up on the article, even if you didn’t agree with me. But even you mentioned he has slipped. And that was my main point. I just don’t think he will ever regain his top 10 or 20 status. He is 14th right now, but that could easily be 20th or lower before too long. Remember the rankings go back two years, and 2003 was his HUGE year.
Thanks for commenting nonetheless.