By Bill Cooney, PGATOUR.COM There is no question Davis
Love III has the Ryder Cup on his mind. But the U.S. captain isn't
only thinking about riding around in a golf cart and rooting on the
team. No, Love has definitely entertained the idea of playing in
the event -- something that may not be that far-fetched considering
his recent play. The U.S. captain is in line for his best finish on
the PGA TOUR this season after carding a 2-under 68 in the third
round of the FedEx St. Jude Classic on Saturday to take a share of
the 54-hole lead at 6 under in Memphis, Tenn. "I might just pick
myself today and get it over with," Love, a 20-time PGA TOUR
winner, told CBS after his round. "No, I’m excited about the
way I’m playing. I am trying to make the team. Trying to work
my way back up." Love, ranked 63rd in Ryder Cup points, would be
the first captain to play in the Ryder Cup since Arnold Palmer in
1963. He was tied with John Merrick (69) and Nick O'Hern (67), both
of whom he is grouped with for a 8:54 a.m. local tee time. Golfers
are teeing off earlier because of the threat of inclement weather
in the afternoon. CBS will broadcast the event from 3 to 6 p.m.
Eastern Time. Second-round leader Rory McIlroy carded a 2-over 72,
struggling to keep his momentum in windy conditions while still
ironing out the kinks of some swing changes that he's been working
on. But McIlroy was within striking distance, making a birdie on
the 18th hole to put himself one shot back with Dustin Johnson
(67), Robert Allenby (67), Kevin Kisner (70), Chad Campbell (70)
and Kevin Stadler (71). "It was a day where for me I took one step
forward and two steps back," McIlroy said. "Every time I made a
birdie, I followed it up with a bogey, felt like. It was testing
out there, tough conditions and the wind was sort of swirling all
over the place and made things tricky. I'm so happy to get back a
birdie at the last and one off the lead going into tomorrow." The
leaderboard was so crowded that 20 golfers were within four shots
of the leaders. Merrick, the first-round leader, and O'Hern are
both looking for their first PGA TOUR win. They are also looking to
place in the top 25 for the first time this season. They'll be
attempting to hold off players such as Johnson, McIlroy and J.B.
Holmes (72) -- who was only two shots back and is more than capable
of going low at TPC Southwind. The big-hitting Holmes carded a
6-under 29 on the front nine on Friday. For Love, 48, a victory
this week would mean a lot. For starters, he hasn't won since 2008.
It would also be an incredible accomplishment during an up-and-down
season. After a decent start in 2012, Love suffered a torn rib
muscle at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard
and was forced to withdraw. He didn't return until THE PLAYERS
Championship and likely wasn't at full strength until last week,
when he tied for 16th at the Memorial Tournament presented by
Nationwide Insurance. Then Love earned a spot in next week's U.S.
Open -- which will be his 23rd appearance in the event -- by going
through 36 holes of sectional qualifying on Monday. It sounds like
a busy schedule. But as Love said, it beats sitting home on the
couch with an injury and not being able to play at all. "(It would)
be a lot of Ryder Cup points and get me back going, you know," Love
said of a potential victory on Sunday. "Like I said, I started off
the year ready to go and excited about the way I was playing and
got knocked back a couple times with injuries. And the work has
paid off, and I'm still hitting it far enough. I putted really well
at Memorial and then the qualifier, so ... I know that I can, you
know, I can still do it."
