PALM BEACH GARDENS (AFP)–Davis Love was confirmed Tuesday as the United States team captain for the 2016 Ryder Cup and a new system allowing more weeks for captain’s picks was also unveiled.
Love, given the chance at redemption after his 2012 team suffered the worst last-day American collapse in history, was named a week after the Golf Channel reported his selection, the PGA of America making it official with a posting on its website.
The group also announced that the qualifying process for eight berths on the 2016 team will be extended by two weeks compared to the 2014 team’s timetable and that three wildcard picks will be made two weeks after that with a final pick not chosen until after the season-ending Tour Championship.
Later selections will ensure players who are on form in the playoffs can have their efforts considered when team spots are decided, a concern last year when picks came before the final tournaments.
Love captained the 2012 team that lost 14 1/2 – 13 1/2 at Medinah after leading 10-6 entering Sunday’s singles matches. Europe matched the largest last-day comeback in Ryder Cup history, the 1999 rally at The Country Club in the “Battle of Brookline” by a US team that included Love.
“I am thrilled to be the Team USA captain and represent our country as we work to win back the Ryder Cup,” Love said. “It is a great honor to be in the position to help build the team, but our mission doesn’t end there. What we accomplish in 2016 at Hazeltine must serve as the foundation for future USA Ryder Cup teams.”
Entering next year’s matches at Hazeltine in suburban Minneapolis, Americans have lost eight of the past 10 Ryder Cups, including the past three in a row and six of the past seven meetings with Europe’s top golfers.
Love captained the 2012 team that lost 14 1/2 – 13 1/2 at Medinah after leading 10-6 entering Sunday’s singles matches. Europe matched the largest last-day comeback in Ryder Cup history, the 1999 rally at The Country Club in the “Battle of Brookline” by a US team that included Love.