Love not stressing, but hoping for repeat of 1995

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HUMBLE. Texas -- There's no need to mention the streak.

Love's best finish at Augusta National was a second in 1995. Love broke 70 three times that week, including a 66 in the final round.

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Video: Love talks about his ankle injury

Trust us. He knows.

He doesn't walk a step on his surgically rebuilt ankle without thinking about it.

But Davis Love III is a realist. If his streak of major championship starts stops at 70 straight, so be it.

He doesn't want that to happen anymore than the rest of us. He's a major player. A staple in your go-to group of contenders everywhere. A guy who's won one of those big four, but a guy who, at justthissideof 44, coulda, woulda, shoulda added a couple of others.

He's also a guy who knows there will be more chances. And -- at this point -- it's all about being patient enough to work his way back.

"I just have to get back to playing golf the way I know how to play golf,'' he said with a smile, "and things will take care of themselves.''

It's amazing that Love is where he is right now. Doctors told him last fall to forget about the streak. That the Masters wasn't even a blip on the screen. No way he'd be ready to even think about, let alone have time to play his way into the field.

Yet here he is at the Shell Houston Open hoping for that last-minute miracle.

He's played six events this year when the original over-under for the time frame was two. He's finding the shots that were supposed to be covered in rust. And most of all, he's here in Houston for the first time since 1992 to give himself one last chance to extend his streak and an opportunity to jumpstart his year.

"This is a week to try to get in the Masters," Love said after playing 10 holes Tuesday afternoon. "This is also a week to try to get my year going."

Win here at the Tournament Course at Redstone and he's headed to Augusta. Forget that he missed the cut at New Orleans last week. Forget that he's hasn't played the weekend in three of the six tournaments he's played this year. Forget, too, that his best tournament of the year was his first -- a tie for 24th at Pebble Beach.

All it takes is one week. One magic week.

And he's been there, done that.

Thirteen years ago, Love won in New Orleans on the Sunday night Harvey Penick passed away to play his way into the Masters the following week. It was an emotional week because of his -- and his late father's relationship with Penick -- but Love wound up finishing second to Ben Crenshaw, whose win was mystically tied to the legendary instructor. An extra club in his bag, Crenshaw said. A hand he felt guiding him around Augusta National.

Injuries limited Love to only 21 starts on the PGA TOUR in 2007. (WireImage)

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Consecutive starts in majors, active streak

Love smiles as he recalls the week. He didn't go to Penick's funeral because Crenshaw and Tom Kite urged him to stay in Augusta and work on his game. It was the best call he could have made, so, his runner-up finish was, well, a bit mystical too.

It's impossible to draw a parallel between 1995 and 2008, but he knows everyone will try.

"I was playing really well then and I had a lot of chances to win before I got to New Orlleans and I should have already won,'' he said of 1995. "There were several tournaments before that I coulda, woulda, shoulda won.

"It's a little different (this year), coming off an injury and haven't really had a chance to win. Haven't had a lot of great rounds. It's a whole different feeling. But it is the week before the Masters and I'll concentrate a little better. I do have a lot to distract me, but I usually play better when that happens. And I'm playing with Freddie Couples (the first two rounds) and that usually makes me play better.''

Love doesn't really know what to expect. He's in that if-it's-not-one-thing-it's-another zone. One week he hits it great and misses putts. The next, it's vice versa. His mother even pointed out a stretch where he bogeyed all the par 3s.

But he just keeps smiling, working hard and, well, thinking about that streak everyone's asking him about.

"I think that's why I'm not playing well,'' said Love, whose streak of 70 is far ahead of Phil Mickelson's second-place total of 55 among active TOUR pros. "But I keep reminding myself I could still be a boot or a brace and sitting at home. ''

Love underwent surgery to repair torn ligaments in his ankle in October and played his first 18 holes a mere three months later. He made his 2008 TOUR debut in February, but hasn't been eligible for events he used to make regular appearances in like the World Golf Championships-CA Championship. And when he gets a chance to play -- like this week -- he takes it.

Redstone could be just what he needs -- a long course set up with Masters-like short rough and shaved banks; a course where Adam Scott, who has a very similar style game, won last year. A course which could breed some much-needed confidence.

"I've played courses like well this in the past,'' Love said. "It's not a U.S. Open-style deep rough, very penal and very unfair. If you play well, you're going to get a good score and if you don't, you're not. The wind could obviously play a factor. But what you see is what you get.''

Love is never more than a few minutes away of swinging the conversation back to how blessed he is to be here, period.

"My hardest thing is the walking part,'' he said. "As long as I can keep walking 18 holes, I'll figure out the golf part of it eventually.

"It was immobile for so long and you lose the calf, you lose the quad. But most people who come back from this are playing a little golf or a little tennis. They're not walking six to eight miles, hitting golf balls and trying to play to get into the Masters.

"I'm not gradually working my back into a normal life. I'm coming into highly competitive, highly stressful situation. One week you're walking around in the rain and one week will be walking around in the mud and one week will be hilly. So I'm not giving it any breaks.''

Neither is he ready to settle. Every week he's pushing himself just a little harder. And reminding himself -- with the help of friends and part-time caddies like Joe LaCava and Mike Hulbert -- to be patient.

"The pressure's there the start of every tournament and I think it's keeping me from getting off to a good start,'' he said. "And if I do get off to a good start, it'll be there at the end. But I've got to get going, period. One good round is going to be pressure to play two good rounds. And two good rounds is going to be pressure to play three.''

He jokes that he's thankful to be playing -- thanks to good surgeons and therapists -- but he's not thankful for his scoring average (71.05) or for missing big tournaments where he usually contends. Then he stops.

"It wouldn't have taken much for it to be two years off or to be career-threatening,'' he said, shaking his head.

So the rust and missed cuts? They're annoyances he can live with.

As for next week? He's got a Boys and Girls Club outing with Tom Fazio scheduled Tuesday in Sea Island, Ga., but if he can catch lightning ... if he can find his game ... if he could win ....

"I'm hoping to screw up all the plans and be in Augusta,'' he said..

One thing he won't test? His passion for his North Carolina Tar Heels.

The Final Four is a 50-minute plane trip from Redstone in San Antonio and the Heels are playing Kansas Saturday night in the semifinals. But Love won't slip over there.

"I haven't been before,'' he said. "I feel like if I all of a sudden showed up, I'd jinx 'em.''

Instead, he hopes to be watching from Houston and preparing for the final round, a win and one more major in that streak.