Love on Ryder Cup captaincy: 'I don't know'

HAVEN, Wis. -- Davis Love III is a likely U.S. Ryder Cup captain in the future, and while he would never assume that he's a shoo-in perhaps as early as the 2012 matches at Medinah CC near Chicago, he's aware that most captains are former major champions and former Ryder Cup players around 50 years old, "and I seem to fill a lot of those categories," he said.

Love, 47, the 1997 PGA Champion, also is one of four assistants to captain Corey Pavin for this year's matches in Wales, so he certainly would seem to be groomed as the next American leader. He'd relish the role, but he understands the land mines, too.

"The hardest thing other than the media battle that Corey is waging ... with others, you know, between Monty (European captain Colin Montgomerie) and Jim Gray it hasn't been too much fun," Love said Sunday at Whistling Straits after closing with a 1-over 73 and 72-hole total of 2-over 290. "But I think just getting the picks done is the hardest thing now because he knows who the eight automatic picks are after today. That's the challenge for him now, and that is going to be hard."

But he wants the job, right?

"I keep the same old refrain of I want to play again. Unless I get to feeling a little better and playing a little better, that's probably not going to be the main focus," Love said. "Yeah, I would like to be captain one day. But after the last few days watching Corey, I don't know. Maybe not. Furyk and I were laughing about it the other day; maybe we don't want to be captain.

"But no, it's a great responsibility, and he (Pavin) is doing a good job, and I think that's why I accepted so quickly, because I want to help him, and then I want to see from the inside what's going on."

-- Dave Shedloski