We should not be surprised Davis Love III is making his Champions Tour debut this week at the Pacific Links Hawai‘i Championship, and scheduling his new golf life around his favorite parts of paradise.
Love is a prominent part of the seniors’ 35th anniversary celebration this year. He turned 50 in April, but waited until now to catch up to his buddies. He tees off Friday at 11:30 a.m. at Kapolei with Jeff Sluman and Jay Haas — a couple of the friends Love looks forward to seeing more of when he eventually plays the senior tour full-time.
"I’m looking forward just to seeing friends," said Love, who figures he has another year or two left on the regular tour. "More the wives than the players. I saw Sally Irwin this morning and it had been so long. It should be fun to get back with all my old friends. I’m looking forward to seeing everybody and hanging out.
"Every one of my friends out here says you are really going to enjoy it, it’s a lot of fun and something to look forward to."
Love’s debut is eagerly anticipated, particularly here. He has experienced tremendous highs in Hawaii, with a pair of memorable wins in unofficial tour events on Maui, two decades of near-misses on Oahu and a series of memorable ocean adventures.
"My best memory is of the waves here last year," joked Love, who has always spent more time in the ocean and fishing on it than he has on golf courses in Hawaii.
But seriously …
"I was thinking about it last night," he said, "it’s another start for me — the start of a new phase in my career. Mark Rolfing really started me off at Kapalua. At the end of my first season I came over here and had a chance to win the (Kapalua International) tournament against Andy Bean, who was one of the guys I grew up idolizing. I played really well and started to feel like I really belonged.
"I love coming to Hawaii. I’ve been joking that I’m planning my schedule around coming over here. I’ve got two Champions Tour events (Pacific Links and the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai in January) I can play around Sony. It’s a blessing."
Love has also experienced heartbreaking lows here.
He was in Kapalua when his father’s plane disappeared from the radar in 1988. Davis Love Jr., a prominent golf teacher who was in contention at the 1964 Masters, died in the plane crash.
Love found a friend that day — and infinite compassion — in Rolfing. It was Rolfing, a Kapalua resident and prominent golf broadcaster, who invited Love to play in his first professional event (1986 Bahamas Classic), along with nearly all 16 Kapalua Internationals. And, at age 11, Rolfing lost his father — Jim Rolfing, president of Wurlitzer — in a plane crash.
After Love won his second Kapalua International, which was the last, in 1997, Mark Rolfing was nearly in tears.
He was in awe when Love fired a mind-numbing 12-under-par 60 at Waialae Country Club in the second round of the 1994 Hawaiian Open. Two days later, Australian Brett Ogle birdied two of the final three holes to beat Love, who would go on to get five more top 10s at Waialae.
None of his 20 PGA Tour wins, a total that includes the 1997 PGA Championship, has come here, but Love has had more success in Hawaii than nearly anyone, save Champions Tour icon Hale Irwin.
Irwin, who turns 70 next June, is at Kapolei this week to try to add to the nearly $4.5 million he has collected in Hawaii. Corey Pavin, who lost in a playoff last year, is also back along with former Hawaiian Open champs Vijay Singh, John Cook, Brad Faxon, Sluman, Ben Crenshaw, Gene Sauers, Mark O’Meara and Paul Goydos.
Love is immensely happy to see them again, and already feels a bit older.
Two years ago, he captained the U.S. Ryder Cup team and won the PNC Father-Son Challenge with son Dru, who now plays for Alabama. Daughter Lexie is now married and gave the Loves their first grandchild three weeks ago.
"I’m feeling it," Love admits. "My wife tells me, you’re turning 50, had (a) wedding, had a baby and Champions Tour all in one year. It hits you. Scott Verplank said everything hurts when you play golf and you’re getting to that point. You’ve worn your body down a little bit. I think people discount even your eyesight. I’ve been playing around with glasses and contacts. Things start to fade away a little bit when you’re 50.
"That’s why, in any sport, when you have a Kelly Slater or a guy who stays long past his 20s and 30s in a sport, it’s just amazing. Your body doesn’t work as well and the competition catches up with you. I’m feeling it … if you don’t have every aspect of your game going, it’s hard to compete on the regular tour. I wake up and I’m not just bouncing out of bed anymore."
Hilo’s Kevin Hayashi is last off the first tee (11:50 a.m.) in the first round and Honolulu’s Casey Nakama goes out last (noon) on the 10th tee. Scott Simpson, who lives part-time in Kailua, tees off at 10 a.m. on No. 10.
