Davis Love III and Darren Clarke are set to be announced as rival 2016 Ryder Cup captains.
It’s been widely reported Love 111 is getting another shot at the USA Team captaincy after his 2012 team lost by a point at Medinah.
And his Hazeltine opponent is certain to be Clarke who will be the vote when a five-man panel meets tomorrow (WED) at European Tour HQ.
Love’s official appointment will come in a week’s time, Tuesday February 14th, ahead of the Honda Classic taking place later next week PGA headquarters in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
Davis Love 111 set to be appointed 2016 USA Ryder Cup captain. (Photo – Eoin Clarke/www.golffile.ie)
The now 50-year old Love 111 was left speechless after Jose Maria Olazabal’s side came from 10- 6 down to win five of the opening Sunday Singles matches and then earned 3 1/2 of the remaining seven encounters and storm to a dramatic 14 1/2 to 13 1/2 success in suburban Chicago.
Then last year a Paul McGinley led European Team completed upstaged a hapless Tom Watson captained USA team winning 16½-11½, their third victory in a row and eighth in 10 tournaments.
In the aftermath, Phil Mickelson soon started finger pointing at the PGA of America and praising Paul Azinger’s 2008 winning formula.
It led to the PGA of America setting up a task force despite many calls stating it was not ‘rocket science’ why the USA Team were being beaten at regular intervals.
Out of the task force meetings — the second and most recent one was at San Diego’s Torrey Pines two weeks ago — the PGA decided its best bet was with Love and this despite a strong push for triple victorious USA Presidents Cup captain, Fred Couples.
It is understood Tom Lehman, USA captain in 2006, and Steve Stricker, who was a Gleneagles vice-captain, will be heavily involved in next year’s matches as both are part of the task force, which also included Mickelson, Tiger Woods and Rickie Fowler.
By way of background Love competed in six Ryder Cups as a player and also served as an assistant captain to Corey Pavin in 2010 in Wales. He has 36 career professional victories, including one major championship, the 1997 PGA Championship at Winged Foot.
