Yesterday, I had the pleasure of spending a few minutes interviewing Davis Love III. We talked about the Ryder Cup and how he thinks we match up against the Europeans. You can tell that he’s excited about being a Ryder Cup captain and has been thinking quite a bit about what he needs to do to lead the team to a win next year in Chicago.
We also discussed his philosophy for course design, introducing Michael Jordan to the game (and the role Jordan may play at the Ryder Cup), and cigars.
You can check out the full interview below:
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You may have seen the new Dove Men+Care ads on TV during golf tournaments featuring Stuart Cink and Davis Love III. Dove was kind enough to send us a couple of behind the scenes videos.
In the first video, Stuart talks about getting taken to the cleaners by his kids on their home putting green and why he became so engaged with Twitter.
In the second video, Davis talks about his family and shows off his awesome collection of motorcycles. His daughter even has one. *cough* *cough* Dad, are you reading this? A Harley would make an awesome birthday present *cough* *cough*
You can check out Davis’s video below the break:
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Well knock me over with a feather. Davis Love III has been formally announced as the 2012 US Ryder Cup captain. He was a vice-captain for the 2010 Ryder Cup team and rumors that he would be the choice for 2012 started even before the Ryder Cup was over.
Love referenced the fact that his selection as captain wasn’t exactly kept under wraps. Immediately after being introduced, he joked about how secret the selection process had been and asked if everybody could wait for a minute while he tweeted the news.
Love also seems to like his chances of bringing home the Ryder Cup trophy on US soil:
I don’t think we could ask for a better home field advantage than Chicago and Medinah Country Club
The conference wasn’t all smiles and laughs though. When asked about the significance of being selected as captain by the PGA of America given the fact that his father was known as the consumate PGA professional, a teary eyed Love discussed what an honor it was to first win the PGA Championship as the son of a PGA professional and then be selected as a Ryder Cup captain:
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Jose Maria Olazabal was named today as the European captain for the 2012 Ryder Cup at Medinah. Olazabal has played in 7 Ryder Cups, and been the European vice-captain for the past 2 teams.
He was such a unanimous choice that the Europeans didn’t even bother voting on it before naming him as captain. Europe is hoping that he can carry his record as a player forward as the team leader (18 wins, 8 losses, 5 draws).
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Bridgestone has finally announced the long-rumored signing of DLIII. This hasn’t exactly been the best kept secret in golf but now we finally know the specifics of what the deal entails.
Davis will be sporting the Bridgestone logo on his hat, bag and glove. He will also be putting the TOUR B-330S ball in play and swinging a set of prototype Bridgestone irons (3-PW). No word yet on what he’ll be doing for driver/wedges/putter.
This is a big deal for Bridgestone. Titleist wasn’t prepared to re-up Davis’s contract at his current rate and honestly probably won’t be too impacted by his departure given their large stable of tour players. Bridgestone on the other hand will be able to really utilize this endorsement deal to raise the status of their brand.
Davis may not be one of the of the top ranked players in the world anymore (although he is #6 on the all-time money list), but he certainly has the name recognition to make an impact. And that’s exactly what Bridgestone is counting on. Check out the full press release [update: and Love's first Bridgestone commercial] after the jump.
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![SEA ISLAND, GA - OCTOBER 7 : Davis Love III smiles on the 16th hole during the first round of the McGladrey Classic at Sea Island Seaside Course on October 7, 2010 in Sea Island, Georgia. (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images)]( "The McGladrey Classic - Day One")
Tim Rosaforte let it slip that Davis Love III is indeed leaving Titleist for Bridgestone on Saturday evening’s Golf Central broadcast. This move has been rumored for over 2 months, but this is the first semi-official confirmation.
DLIII has apparently already shot his first commercial for Bridgestone. No word on the specifics of the deal, but hat/bag/ball (and possibly irons) is a safe bet.
One has to wonder how much of this was DLIII looking for something new/Bridgestone making a great offer vs Titleist trying to clean up their books in anticipation of being sold (or trying to prevent it). Could we be about to see other big name players leaving Titleist in the near future?
The rumor mill has it that long-time Titleist golfer, Davis Love III, will be jumping ship to Bridgestone for the 2011 season. If true, this would be a huge signing for Bridgestone, who’s roster of players currently include Fred Couples, Matt Kuchar, and Will Mackenzie.
The Fred Couples signing in 2005 put Bridgestone on the map, but it’s the quality of their products that has fueled their success. Their E6 Ball is currently the #4 selling ball in golf and they’re about to release a new and improved B-330 line for 2011 on Nov 1.
