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Davis Love III Set to Play in Wachovia Championship at Quail Hollow, May 5-11
Former PGA Championship Winner has a positive outlook that has him playing the best golf of his illustrious career at age 39
CHARLOTTE N.C., April 22, 2003 - Davis Love III, who turned 39 on April 13, believes his age is a positive at this stage of his career. He believes he is in the prime of his career and is eager to prove it on the golf course. He has already won three this year - the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, the Players Championship and most recently, the MCI Heritage - and hopes to win again when he plays in the Wachovia Championship at Quail Hollow Club, May 5-11.
The Wachovia Championship is a $5.6 million tournament that pays $1,008,000 to the winner. It marks the return of the PGA TOUR to Charlotte and Quail Hollow after a 24-year absence.
Love believes experience is everything, and he has tons of it.
"I've made every mistake you can make during my career, and I've learned from every one of them," Love said. "I feel like I am in the prime of my career, not the downside. Most of golf's great players have been winners in their late 30s and early 40s, and that's where I am."
A 16-time winner, including a PGA Championship and two Players Championships, Love also has finished second 13 times in the past four years. The runner-up finishes became a concern because he felt some of them should have resulted in victories. He realized he was trying too hard to beat whoever was on top of the leader board during any given week.
"I've got to chase myself and not anybody else," Love said. "I've got enough of a tail to chase. I don't need to worry about anybody else. I know it sounds boring, but if I can just focus on one shot, one target, then I'm one of the guys to beat."
Love says his focus begins as soon as he reaches any tournament site.
"It starts on the driving range," he said. "You have to be confident on the driving range and in your game plan to get focused on your targets. Then you just go out and play the course. It's that simple."
That simple plan is working wonders for Love in 2003. In six full-field events, he has finished no worse than 12th five times. He has already earned $2.7 million, which puts him on track to surpass his finest year (2001) when he earned $3.1 million. His play this year has also elevated his world ranking to No. 3 behind Tiger Woods and Ernie Els.
"I don't worry about those guys anymore," Love said. "I just have to take care of what I am doing and the rest will take care of itself. I just want to put myself in position to win on Sundays, then it makes focusing on each shot easier."
The Wachovia Championship will be televised by USA Network on Thursday and Friday (May 8-9) and by CBS on Saturday and Sunday (May 10-11).
Proceeds from all PGA TOUR events benefit charities selected by the tournament organization. The nationally known educational foundation Teach for America has been selected as the primary charitable recipient of the Wachovia Championship for 2003, in keeping with Wachovia's strong commitment to furthering education opportunities in local communities.
Champions for Education, Inc., a new 501(c) (3) foundation formed to raise funds for education, will manage and operate this event as the tournament host organization.
Only a limited number of daily tickets remain for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday ranging in price from $10 to $30. There are also a limited number of weekly ticket books available for $110. For more ticket information, call the tournament office at 704-383-1428. Tickets can also be ordered by calling 800-945-0777 or online at www.wachoviachampionship.com.
About Wachovia
Wachovia Corporation (NYSE:WB), created through the Sept. 1, 2001,
merger of First Union and Wachovia, had assets of $320 billion and
stockholder's equity of $29 billion at March 31, 2002. Wachovia is a
leading provider of financial services to 20 million retail, brokerage and
corporate customers throughout the East Coast and the nation. The company
operates full-service banking offices under the First Union and Wachovia
names in 11 East Coast states and Washington, D.C., and offers
full-service brokerage with offices in 49 states and global services
through more than 30 international offices. Online banking and brokerage
products and services are available through wachovia.com and firstunion.com.