Love Conquers All at PGA

MAMARONECK, N.Y. — Davis Love III waved a soggy visor and raised it to the sky Sunday afternoon. A few moments before, a rainbow had appeared.

Now, as far as symbolism goes, you just can’t beat a rainbow elbowing its way out of the clouds just before you drill an eight-foot birdie putt on the last hole to win the 79th PGA Championship.

But it was a rainbow ending for Love, a 33-year-old veteran who spent four days at Winged Foot and finally stepped into the ring of major championship winners.

“I didn’t want to look,” Love said. “But there’s something to it.”

It had been a long and dry road for Love, covering 39 majors and 11 years, but ended under a rainbow on one of the most famous golf courses in the world.

Love began the day tied with Justin Leonard, but opened up a five-shot lead at the turn, then outlasted a sudden rainstorm to hold the lead and score a five-shot victory with a closing round of 66.

His 66-71-66-66 total of 11-under 269 was a competitive record for the punishing 6,987-yard Winged Foot layout that was beaten into submission after rain the last two days softened its defenses.

Leonard was attempting to become the second player since Tom Watson (U.S. Open, British Open) in 1982 to win majors back to back (Nick Price won the British Open and PGA in 1994), but he couldn’t pull it off.

Leonard bogeyed two of the first four holes and was never closer than three shots the rest of the way.

“I would love to be in a different position, but at the same time I was glad that I was with him and there to watch,” said Leonard, who closed with a 71 and finished at six-under 274.

Only two others--Jeff Maggert and Lee Janzen--bettered par at Winged Foot, which despite its ominous reputation allowed course-record 65s to Leonard on Saturday and Maggert on Sunday.

Maggert’s 65, which featured a four-under 31 on the back, was good enough for third place at four-under 276 and also secured him a place on the Ryder Cup team.

Janzen, the 36-hole leader, finished with a 69 that was good for fourth place at one-under 279. Ryder Cup captain Tom Kite was fifth at even-par 280.

The two most important holes for Love were the par-five 12th and the par-three 13th. Love had a five-shot lead through 11, but there was a two-shot swing at No. 12.

Love pulled his drive into the deep rough and chipped out, but his sand wedge carried only about 40 yards. He still had 160 yards to the hole. Love hit a seven-iron but came up short of the green. From 40 feet, he chipped on to about seven feet, but missed his par putt.

Meanwhile, Leonard birdied and the lead was three. At No. 13, Leonard hit a three-iron just behind the hole, but Love’s four-iron missed the green long in the matted rough. From there, Love nearly chipped in, the ball hitting the flagstick.

Instead of another two-shot swing or even worse, Love managed to keep his three-shot lead.

“That really saved the championship,” Love said.

The rain was falling hard when Leonard lost another shot to Love with a bogey at No. 16. Leonard drove into the rough and couldn’t recover.

All that was left was for Love to keep his composure long enough to play the last three holes. It wasn’t at all a simple assignment, he said.

“I was choking up a lot of times,” Love said. “Every time I thought about winning. I was very, very confident about my golf game, but my emotions were getting to me on the back nine.”

Love’s breakthrough victory was a popular one. One of the most liked players on the PGA Tour, he had labored under the unwanted label of best player never to have won a major.

He had come close, though, finishing second to Ben Crenshaw in the 1995 Masters and to Steve Jones at the 1996 U.S. Open, which was Love’s most painful to endure.

Love three-putted from 18 feet on the 72nd hole for bogey when par would have put him in a playoff.

The son of teaching pro Davis Love II, who was died in a plane crash in Jacksonville, Fla., in 1988, Love had depended on his father for teaching, guidance and support, and his loss was a tremendous blow.

So it was fitting that Mark Love carried his older brother’s bag on this big day, witnessed by most of the Love clan, including his mother and sister. As far as momentous victories go, this one was all in the family.

His father had penned a few lines of inspiration to Love in a book, a message Love cannot forget: Follow your dreams and enjoy the trip.

“I think about my dad a lot,” Love said. “To be the son of a PGA pro and to be the PGA champion is quite a thrill. I know he would be extremely proud, not only that I won a major but that it was the PGA.”

Love’s victory was worth $470,000, clinched his position on the Ryder Cup team and moved him past $1 million in earnings this year.

But there was so much more. It was the stuff of rainbows and a father’s dreams for his son. Love said if his father were alive, he would simply have said it was time to win . . . that it was his turn.

“I’m looking forward to taking this and running with it and turning it into a lot more major championships,” he said.

Maybe there will be more. And if there are more majors in store in the future for Love, he probably won’t have any trouble recalling the first step he took at Winged Foot.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

SCORES

At Mamaroneck, N.Y.----Par 70

269 (-11)--$470,000

Davis Love III: 66-71-66-66

274 (-6)--$280,000

Justin Leonard: 68-70-65-71

276 (-4)--$175,000

Jeff Maggert: 69-69-73-65

279 (-1)--$125,000

Lee Janzen: 69-67-74-69

280 (E)--$105,000

Tom Kite: 68-71-71-70

Major Players

A look at how the winners of golf’s four major championships fared in each of the Grand Slam events this year. T designates tie:

TIGER WOODS

Masters: Win

U.S. Open: T19

British Open: T24

PGA: T29

*

ERNIE ELS

Masters: T17

U.S. Open: Win

British Open: T10

PGA: T52

*

JUSTIN LEONARD

Masters: T7

U.S. Open: T36

British Open: Win

PGA: 2nd

*

DAVIS LOVE III

Masters: T7

U.S. Open: T16

British Open: T10

PGA: Win

* RYDER CUP: Jeff Maggert shoots 65 to qualify for spot on U.S. Ryder Cup team. C6