Love Reportedly to Captain 2016 U.S. Ryder Cup Team


Various news sources are reporting that Davis Love III will be named the U.S. captain for the 2016 Ryder Cup. The PGA of America, which runs the American side of the biennial competition involving professional golfers from the U.S. and Europe, is expected to officially announce the appointment next week.

If Love is the captain, it will be the second time the 50-year-old North Carolinian will be in charge of an American squad. His 2012 team lost to Europe in 2012 at Medinah near Chicago. The Yanks went into Sunday's singles matches with a 10-6 lead, but were overwhelmed on the final day by the Euros and suffered a tough 14½ to 13½ defeat.

Following another, more resounding 16½ to 11½ loss to the Europeans last year at Gleneagles in Scotland - the Americans' eighth in the past 10 Ryder Cups - the PGA of America formed a "task force" to evaluate the selection process for the captains and the players. The 2014 U.S. captain, Tom Watson, was criticized by some players and others for an alleged disconnect with some team members.

According to ESPN, the task force met two weeks ago in San Diego and it is unclear if it made a recommendation or if the PGA of America will decide the next captain independently. The organization wouldn't comment on a Golf Channel report and said only that there would be an announcement next week.

Love is a 20-time winner on the PGA Tour who played on six U.S. Ryder Cup teams and was a popular captain in 2012. In later interviews, the 1996 PGA champion suggested he might be open for a return, but not anytime soon. "My experience has come and gone,'' Love said in November 2012.

"What I've learned is that I'll always be a former Ryder Cup captain. All the things that are behind the scenes that I'll get to share inside the group, whoever the next three or four captains are, that part I really appreciate the experience.

"They asked me to do two things, promote the game, promote the Ryder Cup, be an ambassador for the game. And then to win. We did really well in one part of it and then we just got beat. I don't think they'll ask me to do it again. I don't think you could do much better.

"I would feel bad if I took another team and tried to go win because I didn't win with this team. That was my team and I don't think I'd ever want to change that. If they decided they had a gap down the road and decided they'd love for me to do it again . . . maybe.''

The 2016 Ryder Cup will be held at Hazeltine Golf Club in Chaska, Minn. The Europeans are expected to name their captain on Wednesday, with the choices reportedly between Darren Clarke or Miguel Angel Jimenez.