Davis Declares: Cut The Rough, Let The Birdies Begin!
/Captain Davis Love will not be confused with Lanny Wadkins, who infamously ordered Oak Hill to harvest rough in 1995. Instead, Love says bring on the birdies and the excitement. Doug Ferguson reports.
''We've set it up the way we think fans will like it,'' Love said. ''People probably don't believe that, but we set it up so that it's fun to watch. You don't want to see players chipping out and putting for par at the Ryder Cup. You want to see birdies. You want to see excitement. TV is going to like it. We had four players up there in the last week, and they loved it.''
“I told them to cut the rough,” Love smiled on Monday at Sea Island Resort. “Our guys are long hitters, kind of free-wheeling players, so I didn’t want there to be rough that you had to just chip out of.”
What I love most about the comments, made in a McGladrey Classic teleconference call, is the absence of gamesmanship or an obsession with gaining an advantage. Instead, this is about exciting Ryder Cup golf.
Garry Smits notes Love's remarks about what he's facing as Captain and working for the PGA of America.
“They send you the schedule on the iPad, and I keep scrolling and it keeps going and going and going ... 12 pages of stuff you have to do,” Love said Monday during a news conference at the Sea Island Resort to promote the McGladrey Classic, the PGA Tour event Love hosts Oct. 18-21. “I’m concerned about logistics and being organized. The details are getting in the way of the golf. But I want to get to the golf. I’m excited about getting down to the golf.”
