Love Receives Bob Jones Award from USGA


The United States Golf Association named Davis Love III as the recipient of the 2013 Bob Jones Award in a ceremony Saturday night at the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego.

Presented annually since 1955, the Bob Jones Award is the USGA's highest honor and recognizes an individual who demonstrates the spirit, personal character and respect for the game exhibited by Jones, winner of nine USGA championships.

"We are honored to recognize Davis Love III with the Bob Jones Award," said USGA President Glen D. Nager. "Through his actions on and off the course, Davis has inspired a generation of golfers with his passion for the game and respect for its history. He exhibits the traits of honesty and sportsmanship displayed by the award's namesake."

Love, 48, a winner of 20 PGA Tour events, has displayed leadership in what is usually an individual game, culminating in his captaincy of the 2012 U.S. Ryder Cup team. He has represented his country as a player in six Ryder Cups, six Presidents Cups and in the 1985 Walker Cup Match at Pine Valley Golf Club, where he helped lead the USA Team to a narrow 13-11 victory over Great Britain and Ireland by winning two matches on the final day.

"I am very grateful to be selected by the USGA to receive their highest honor, the Bob Jones Award," said Love, whose playing schedule prevented him from attending the ceremony. "Just to be mentioned in the same company as the previous recipients is a nice compliment, but to have my name permanently etched alongside them on an award named after Bob Jones is a tremendous feeling."

In addition to his contributions to the game, the longtime resident of Sea Island, Ga., is a fixture in the local community, along with his wife, Robin, daughter, Alexia, and son, Davis IV, as well as his brother, Mark, the tournament director of the PGA Tour's McGladrey Classic.

"Davis is a great role model for young players to emulate," said PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem. "He sets a great standard for those coming behind him."

In 2005, Love established the Davis Love Foundation to assist national and community-based programs that work to build a better future for at-risk children. Based in St. Simons Island, Ga., the foundation is the host organization of the McGladrey Classic, which benefits the Special Olympics and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeast Georgia, two of the USGA's allied organizations.

A video highlighting Love's contributions to the game is available at http://www.usga.org/videohub.aspx.

The above report is courtesy of the USGA. For more information, visit www.usga.org.