HONOLULU – Among the game’s increasingly younger star class, Davis Love III’s name on the Sony Open leaderboard stands out.
Much of this week’s field weren’t born when Love, 54, won his first PGA Tour event in 1987 in Hilton Head, S.C., and he’s settled into his role as the elder statesman in recent years.
But thanks to three birdies over his final four holes at Waialae Country Club, he’s proven that he can also still play when he’s healthy.
“I’m playing mostly on the regular tour this year,” Love said. “I felt like the last few years I’ve been injured during the West Coast. I’d like to play a full season. If I can play a full season, I felt like I could get back to being competitive.”
Full-field scores from the Sony Open in Hawaii
Sony Open in Hawaii: Articles, photos and videos
Love, whose last top-10 finish on Tour was at the 2017 Wyndham Championship, has moved into contention, thanks to a third-round 64 that left him tied for fifth place at 11 under par.
Although he plans to play almost exclusively on the PGA Tour in 2019, he will make one exception next week when he will travel to the SMBC Singapore Open. Although his wife, Robin, has always wanted to see Singapore and his son, Dru, will also be in the field, Love’s primary motivation for playing the event, that is co-sanctioned by the Japan Golf Tour and Asian Tour, is to qualify for The Open Championship.
The Singapore Open is an Open qualifying event, and the top-4 finishers not otherwise exempt earn a spot in the field at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland in July.
“I just want to play in it. I just love playing in it I don’t care where it is,” said Love, who last played The Open in 2012. “It’s just like the U.S. Open or the Masters, I would just like to play them one more time. Especially The Open.”
Source: Internet
