Press conference - Davis Love III

JULIUS MASON: Davis Love III with us after his first round of the 82nd PGA Championship.

Davis, some thoughts about your round today.

DAVIS LOVE III: Obviously, a good way to start. Conditions are getting tougher and tougher out there as the day goes on. It is hard to say how it will be playing in the morning. I had one of the earlier tee times. I think with the low scores, they are all going to come out of the guys that teed off probably before 11 o'clock, so good to take advantage of that. Looks like the only time of the day to shoot a low score, and nice to keep pace with the leaders.

And I hit the ball real well except for a drive at 1 and a drive at 18; I hit the ball very, very well. So, I am happy with my start.

JULIUS MASON: Questions.

Q. Can you tell me about the eagle on 7?

DAVIS LOVE III: Yes. 7, I hit a real good drive. Tried to hit a 4-iron over the bunker, taking it almost right at it. Pulled it a little. It was just off the green to the left, probably 30 feet from the hole. And I was in the thicker grass, but had an uphill lie, just off the edge of the green and tried to just hit a little high pitch, landed it just right and it rolled right in. But usually short-siding yourself is bad, but I got it kind of in a good spot. It almost was on the green, then went off just off the edge.

Davis Love III plays his 3rd into the 18th. Allsport.

Q. Par 5s, were just those a little bit -- Tiger birdied all of them. Wondered what your thoughts are; the scores on them are pretty low.

DAVIS LOVE III: Well, you know, we have heard a lot about this golf course, and not being in the traditional lineup. But you know what is nice that we can play par 5s in a major championship. If you hit a good drive, you can get on in 2, where there is a chance to make an eagle; put some excitement back in the game.

And the 18th green is going to be exciting, you know, risk/reward. You've got the 7th hole - drive it down the left, drive it down the right; the 2nd hole, where if you hit a good enough drive, you can get on in two. If you miss the fairway, it is a tough hole.

So I think it is great that we can actually play the par 5s. I was joking last year that we never play any par 5s any more in major or big tournaments, and it is nice that that they haven't changed them all to par 4s here.

Q. You are playing your own game, as everybody is. Did you watch the scoreboard at all? Did you happen to notice that string of birdies by Tiger, and any thoughts about that?

DAVIS LOVE III: Well, I don't know what he did. I just saw that he and Scott played real good rounds and, I knew that the morning scores were obviously better, and it was a good day to stay patient and try to get a low one. 10:25 is not really an early tee time, but you need to definitely take advantage, because Darren just seemed like -- I think there was, you know, one other guy maybe on the leaderboard that didn't play early in the morning. Obviously, there are some high scores in the morning too, but it looks like most of the low ones are going to come out of the morning group. So it was nice to take advantage when you saw that happening out there.

Q. Was the wind coming up in the afternoon?

DAVIS LOVE III: Yeah, wind started blowing, maybe on 14 for me. And it was pretty -- blowing pretty good coming in on 16, 17, 18; and those holes, if it played downwind, can play fairly easy, but into the wind, 16 and 17 can be pretty tough.

Q. You talked about having a hard time keeping your patience at Pebble when you saw Tiger and Hal get off to such strong starts. What was the difference for you today, especially what Tiger did at ST. Andrews? Looks like he is doing it here this week, too.

DAVIS LOVE III: I try not to pay any attention to what other players are doing. I just play my own game and get lost in my own little world out there a little bit. I am playing very, very well. And I need to -- I need to just stay focused on that and just play.

It is hard not to watch the leaderboards, Rob Rotella said, "If you have to look at them, look at them and forget about it, and make it remind you to get back into your game."

That is what I have to do. I can't not look. But you know, you pretty much see some good scores every day at a major. It is hard to keep doing it day after day after day; so I don't pay a whole lot of attention to it 'til Sunday.

Q. You said that you feel you are playing well. I kind of sense that you feel like this is a course that you may be able to do something on. Does it suit you? Are you feeling better, I guess, this week, than some other weeks?

DAVIS LOVE III: I think length is definitely an advantage. The course is in great shape. I am real happy the way it is setting up for me. Now I just have to get it in the fairway.

Q. Can you talk about your year; the mindset you are coming into this tournament with?

DAVIS LOVE III: I have been close all year. And I worked real hard on my swing over the winter and start of the season, and my swing has gotten better and better. And I think I have gotten a little too wrapped up in expectations, and now I am just trying to relax and play.

And obviously I would like to win some golf tournaments, but the only way I am going to do that is do what I did today, get out and play and quit thinking about the results.

Q. With the par 5s, does that take a little pressure off you mentally? Does it get a little boost from it or --

DAVIS LOVE III: I think if you are driving it well, if you are a long hitter and you feel like maybe a bogey isn't quite as bad or missing an opportunity on a short par 4 isn't as bad because maybe you can make it up, you know, the harder the greens get the faster they get; that advantage is going to maybe dwindle a little bit.

But yes, it is nice to know that when I bogeyed 1, maybe if I could hit the fairway on 2, I could get that bogey right back. As I said, it is fun to get a chance, a shot, at maybe making a birdie or eagle, rather than playing a golf course where every hole you are just fighting to make par.

Q. You just talked about getting too wrapped up in expectations; yours or ours?

DAVIS LOVE III: Mine. Mine are a lot. My expectations are a lot higher than yours.

Q. What does that say about us?

DAVIS LOVE III: Well, you are not on my side. If you look at my game, everybody expects me to play better than I have; so I appreciate that.

Q. Davis, 68 today. You said it was a good score today. If the conditions stay the same, would you be happy with four 68s, or would you need to go lower than that to win this tournament?

DAVIS LOVE III: I don't know. Playing tomorrow afternoon, 67 will be a good score if it is like today. It may rain or whatever, may cool off.

But I think when you put a target number up there, it messes you up, but usually rounds in the 60s in a major does pretty good.

Thank you.

Email this page to a friend