Finally, Love fulfills his destiny
Posted: Mon August 18, 1997 at 12:05 AM ET
MAMRONECK, New York (CNN/SI) -- The long and frustrating wait is finally over for Davis Love III.
No less than 38 times did Love tee off in a major championship, only to come away empty after each and every one of them. Some, like last year's U.S. Open at Oakland Hills, or the Masters two years ago, he surrendered more painfully than others.
But on a Sunday afternoon awash in heavy rain and even heavier symbolism, Davis Love III gleefully -- and tearfully -- shed the inglorious label of "Best Golfer Never to Win a Major."
Davis Love III has won his major, the 1997 PGA Championship.
Mr. Colin Montgomerie, that ignominious title is now all yours.
Displaying all the focus, determination, skill and patience he could muster, Love negotiated the rolling grounds of famed Winged Foot Golf Club in 66 masterful strokes, 4 under par, for a final tally of 11 under. Justin Leonard, the other half of the two-horse race that was the final round, played gallantly but could not continue the magic that carried him to the British Open title last month.
During Saturday's third round, Leonard, the 25-year-old Texan, set the competitive course record at Winged Foot, shooting 65 while the rest of the field was falling apart. Mercifully, the outcome on Sunday was all but settled early on, Love leading by five at the turn.
Leonard never got closer than three strokes the rest of the way. "I'm disappointed," he said. "I felt good coming into today. He just played very well."
Most of the fame surrounding Winged Foot centers around the 18th green. It was there, in the 1929 U.S. Open, that Bobby Jones holed a 12-foot putt to win the title.
Love's legacy at 18 will be remembered not for the 12-foot birdie he holed, but for the glorious rainbow that stretched eerily across the sky. Somehow, you got the feeling that that rainbow was the direct result of Love's late father, Davis Love Jr., smiling proudly as his son fulfilled a lifelong dream.
It could be a bedtime story you tell your kids.
"There once was this golfer named Davis Love III, who lost his father tragically to a plane crash in 1988. Davis III's brother, Mark, caddied for him, and together, they orchestrated a monumental final round to win the PGA Championship.
"By the time he reached the 18th green, a huge rainbow broke out over the course. He drained the putt and finally wins his major championship."
I said after Saturday's play that I thought Justin Leonard would win it. But sometimes forces greater than we can explain work their magic. This was one of those times.
This was destiny for Davis Love III.
How satisfying it was for him. How lucky it was for me to be there.
| 
