Musings: Love Hurts

Davis Love III has played in 70 consecutive major championships, the longest current streak on the PGA Tour. The last major he missed? The 1990 U.S. Open, when he was a 26-year-old brimming with promise.

Despite the fact that he’s only won a single major in the ensuing years, the 1997 PGA Championship, the streak is nevertheless a testament to Love’s remarkable consistency. After all, they don’t invite just anyone to play in these things; you have to earn your way in.

Unfortunately, though, the streak is also in jeopardy. Love needs to win this week’s Shell Houston Open to earn an invitation to the 2008 Masters. And at this point, that seems unlikely. Love shot 75-76 to miss the cut at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, his third missed cut in six events so far this season. His best finish in 2008 is a tie for 24th at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. He ended the 2007 season by missing cuts in six of his last eight events and finished 83rd on the money list for the season. He has battled back and neck problems, although he has proclaimed that he is physically and mentally healthy at the moment.

So how realistic is it to expect Love to win this week? Well, there is a positive precedent for Love under this “win and you’re in” scenario. In 1995, Love needed a win in New Orleans to earn a Masters invitation, and he got it. He then proceeded to finish second at the Masters, one of three career runner-up finishes in majors.

Sadly, though, a win this week seems like a longshot, and a remarkable run of excellence will end with little fanfare. It’s just another small indignity for a player who has labored under the weight of unfair expectations for his whole career.

Love appears destined to wear a tag of lifetime underachiever. It’s almost certainly an unfair label, considering that he has won 19 PGA Tour events over a distinguished career.

But, fairly or not, we all expected so much more out of this son of a legendary teaching pro and possessor of a matchless swing and enviable talent.

Love turns 44 on Masters Sunday. It seems likely that he’ll be celebrating in front of his television set rather than amid the azaleas. And that’s a shame.

First-timers Club

For the sixth time in the last seven years, a player earned his first career win in New Orleans. Andres Romero, a rising star on the international stage, is the latest newbie to grab a breakthrough win at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Romero also joins the legion of international players who have thrived in the melting pot that is New Orleans.

Romero is hardly a newcomer to golf’s center stage; he had a British Open win clearly in his sights in 2007 before a double bogey and bogey down the stretch snatched the Claret Jug from his grasp at Carnoustie. This time, he posted a number in the rain-plagued event and waited for his fellow competitors to falter, which they did. Contenders Peter Lonard, Woody Austin and Nicholas Thompson all stumbled down the stretch, although Lonard did receive a pleasant surprise after his runner-up finish nudged him into the World Top 50 and earned him a spot in the Masters.

Austin, who double-bogeyed the 18th, was refreshingly and typically candid after his round. “I choked my guts out,” he said. “I flat-out played like a dog the last nine holes. I’m not afraid to admit it.”

Romero, who finished long before the other leaders, had to wait three hours for his victory to unfold. Surprisingly, it was a relaxing wait for the player who earned his first win in only his 12th career start on Tour.

“I was in the players lounge having some lunch and chatting with my friends,” he said. “I had some lunch and called home and told my mom. They (the other contenders) had to do the job, because I had already done mine.”

Not According to Plan

Ernie Els’ master plan for winning the Masters included playing in five of the six PGA Tour events leading up to Augusta. But a virus has forced him to withdraw from this week’s Shell Houston Open, another blow to a beleaguered tournament that falls at a most unfortunate spot on the schedule. It also is a blow to Els’ Masters preparation.

“I am very disappointed to have been forced to make this decision because I was really looking forward to playing this week,” Els said in a statement. “The Shell Houston Open was going to be an important part of my buildup toward the Masters, but I have been advised that it would not be in my best interests to play.”

Els said the virus is similar to one that caused him to arrive late and play poorly at the WGC-CA Championship. Previously, he had withdrawn from the Arnold Palmer Invitational due to fatigue.

Perhaps the time off will do him some good, but Els isn’t exactly soaring into Augusta atop a wave of momentum.

Michelle, My Belle

Michelle Wie’s golf career may be going nowhere, but her love life is looking up, literally. Wie is dating fellow Stanford student Brook Lopez, a 7-foot-1 star on the Cardinal basketball team that made the Sweet 16 of this year’s NCAA Tournament.

According to Sports Illustrated, the two are officially an item, despite efforts at keeping a low profile. Wie, plagued by a wrist injury, has made only one appearance on the LPGA Tour this year, finishing 20 strokes behind winner Paula Creamer in the Fields Open in Hawaii. Lopez, who with his twin brother Robin terrorized Pac-10 opponents this season, averaged 19 points and 8 rebounds for the Cardinal in 2007-08.

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