Report: Davis Love III to return as Ryder Cup captain

By Cameron La Fontaine | Feb 17, 2015

Aug 6, 2014; Louisville, KY, USA; PGA golfer Davis Love III walks to the first tee during practice for the 2014 PGA Championship at Valhalla Country Club. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /

Davis Love III is set to captain the U.S. Ryder Cup team once again in 2016, but he is not confirming or denying reports.

Davis Love III is reportedly the next captain for the 2016 U.S. Ryder Cup team. Love III was the captain when the U.S. team lost by just one point in 2012, and the PGA will go back to him after a disastrous fall out with Tom Watson’s captaincy that angered Phil Mickelson as well as other American golfers in the 2014 Ryder Cup in September.

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The official announcement won’t be made until February 24, but Golf Channel insider Tim Rosforte says Love III will be up next (again) for the United States team.

After a rough ending to the 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles in Scotland where the Tom Watson-led U.S. team took a 16.5-11.5 loss to Team Europe, an 11-man task force to choose the next captain that included Davis Love III and players Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Rickie Fowler and more, met several times including a four-hour meeting two weeks ago in San Diego that likely decided that Love III would be the next captain.

The 2012 U.S. team held a 10-6 lead heading into Sunday singles, only to lose the cup, 14 ½ to 13 ½, after Europe tied the largest final-day comeback.

Love III was a great captain for the U.S. but fell under some criticism for playing Keegan Bradley and Phil Mickelson when Mickelson wanted to rest (a similar situation that got Tom Watson in trouble in 2014), but the loss clearly fell on the players as Europe won the last two matches to win on Sunday.

Fred Couples, who went 3-0 as Presidents Cup captain, and Paul Azinger, who in 2008 led the U.S. to its only win this century, were seemingly the two favorites for the job this year, but Love III looks to have come out of the shadows.

Love will become the eighth man to captain the Ryder Cup on multiple occasions, joining Walter Hagen, Sam Snead, Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, Jack Burke, Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson. Only Burke got a second chance after losing in his debut. Returning captains are 4-3 on their second turn in the Ryder Cup.

Davis Love III and his American squad will tee off against expected Team Europe captain Darren Clarke and his team in 2016 at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota in a year and a half.

The Americans have lost eight of the past 10 Ryder Cups, including six of the past seven.

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