MICHAEL COHEN/USGA PHOTO ARCHIVES
are going to help me, then I’ll do it. If you’re
100 percent bought in and you’re going to be
there whether you’re playing or not, then I’m
in.’ I have never heard this group of guys say,
‘We will do whatever it takes to win.’ That’s the
team feeling we want to convey to the players.
VG: What will be different than the last
time you captained in 2012?
LOVE: I didn’t reach out to former captains
enough. I’m not saying we’re going to
automatically win, but this is why the Task
Force is to going work for the teams going
forward. I called all the former captains who I
played for. When I called Lanny Wadkins, he
said, ‘You’ve made my day. I’m am so excited
that somebody called me, told me what’s going
on, asked for my opinion and wanted my
help.’ I didn’t ask him last time. When I keep
saying I made mistakes when I was captain
before, I didn’t sit down with T Kite, Lanny
om
Wadkins, Ben Crenshaw, Raymond Floyd and
say, ‘T me what to do.’ The culture was not
ell
there for us to have communication, support,
ideas and a game plan that got handed off. We
didn’t have that continuity, that system. Now
we’re all excited because this is what we’re
going to do this year, two years from now
and four years from now. We have a plan and
a system and we’re all bought into it. We’ve
never really had a long-term game plan to get
our guys prepared year after year.
The challenge is to make sure the guys
who are going to make the team know we’re
organized, ready and that guys like Tiger and
Phil and Stricker are not only trying to make
the team, they’re trying to help Davis. They’re
watching and planning and strategizing. I think
that’s what Europe’s done really well. They have
a committee and they know who’s going to be
the next captain, the captain after that and who’s
going to be the assistants. It’s more than just a
new captain every two years picking four of his
friends. It’s continuity, continuity, continuity.
Nick Saban or Dean Smith or whoever is a
great coach—they run the same system over
and over—and practice the system. They’re
watching and planning and strategizing. I think
that’s what Europe’s done really well. They have
a committee and know who’s going to be the
next captain, the captain after that and who’s
going to be the assistants.
VG: Are you excited to get a second chance
to be a winning captain?
LOVE: Every time I talk about it I get excited,
because it’s so different and so fresh. That’s why
it’s not a second chance for me. It’s like starting
over. It’s like this is a whole new deal. This is
the second time I’m doing it but I’m not the
w w w. v s g a . o r g
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LOVE: Honestly I don’t. I didn’t start out on
Though he remains competitive on the regular
circuit, Love says he knows when it will be time to
play the Champions Tour on a consistent basis.
same captain. I’m starting over with a better
team behind me and a fresh outlook. Now I
know I can be more focused and decisive on
what matters for the players. We’re setting a
course for the future and I get to be the guy
who gets to kick it off.
VG: Does that fact that you went through
this Task Force add to the pressure to win
in 2016?
LOVE: The main reason this Task Force
happened is because we were losing. We keep
losing. I’ve been on those stages 15 times. I’d
look across at the other team and think, ‘We
have a really good team. We can win this.’
Then it’s always close or we lose. So why do
we play so well in the Presidents Cup and don’t
play as well in the Ryder Cup? It’s a matter of
wanting to win the Ryder Cup so badly that we
get in our own way. The secret is how do we
get them to relax and play like they do at the
Presidents Cup? Somehow we have to get over
that hump. There is going to be even more
pressure because we’ve lost three in a row.
When I’m at the Presidents Cup we’re
going to be trying to help Jay win, but we’re
going to be watching what’s going on and learn
about what we can translate to a Ryder Cup.
That’s going to be really important to not let
these guys focus on the record of the past.
They’re going to hear it. They’re going to be
like Kentucky basketball all year long. You’re
undefeated, undefeated, undefeated. We’re
going to hear you’ve lost, you’ve lost, you’ve
lost, task force, task force, yada, yada. They’re
going to hear it. There’s no avoiding that.
We’re going to have to manage that.
VG: Your record compares favorably to
peers Fred Couples and Mark O’Meara,
who were elected to the World Golf Hall
of Fame. Have you thought about the
possibility of getting inducted?
the tour wanting to make the Hall of Fame. I
wanted to see how good I could get. I wanted
to win a bunch of tournaments and last for
a while. I want to be the Ryder Cup captain
because I want to be around the team. Do I
like the attention of being Ryder Cup captain?
No, thank you. When I think of the Hall of
Fame, I think Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer,
T Watson. I don’t think Davis Love. They
om
should put people in who are slam dunks.
I’m glad they threw my name out there,