ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – In 1978, Davis Love III’s father, renowned instructor Davis Jr., was given a blank slate to start an instructional school anywhere in the country. He chose Sea Island Resort here in this picturesque corner of southern Georgia—halfway between Savannah and Jacksonville, Florida—and it’s been Love’s home ever since.
Love, who was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2017, has a veritable museum of his achievements on display all over the island. A local restaurant, Brogen’s North, has a caddie bib worn by brother Mark at the 1995 Ryder Cup matches at Oak Hill and a framed print of Love after his cup-clinching putt at The Belfry in 1993. Some of Love’s winning hardware have been the focal point of an elegant trophy room at Sea Island Resort.
When Love won the 1997 PGA Championship, hand-painted banners and a billboard along U.S. 17 offered congratulations. After the 2016 Ryder Cup victory, Love was welcomed home by a live band at McKinnon Airport, a small airstrip on the island favored by players who fly private.
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Love has returned the community’s affection by hosting the PGA Tour’s RSM Classic, a tournament that has raised nearly $29 million for local charities. He does everything from handing out the trophy to hosting the pro-am party, and is making his 788th Tour start in the tournament this week, which kicks off its 13th year on Thursday at the Resort’s Seaside and Plantation courses.
Sea Island Golf Club in Sea Island, Georgia. (Photo: Hunter Martin/Getty Images)
“The community rallies behind it every year,” said Zach Johnson, a Sea Island resident who is one of two players in the field that has competed in every edition of the RSM Classic to date (the other being Chris Kirk).
Johnson, who grew up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, already has claimed the John Deere Classic, his true home game, and now he’s gunning for his adopted hometown tourney. Somehow, none of the local boys, who are collectively known as the Sea Island Mafia, have ever had bragging rights as champion of the RSM Classic.
“Based on the amount of talent that lives here, based on the resumes that live here and having that course knowledge, it is a little bit surprising. I find it a little bit odd. But it’s hard,” Johnson said. “At some point that’s probably got to happen.”
Johnson, who has three top-10 finishes in his last five RSM starts, would love…
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