Davis Love III will be the 2016 U.S. Ryder Cup captain, according to a report by Golfworld's Tim Rosaforte and a tweet from former PGA of America president Ted Bishop.
The PGA of America will make the announcement on Feb. 24 from their Florida headquarters, which will host the PGA Tour's Honda Classic that week.
Love was U.S. captain in 2012, helping to forge pairings that sparked the U.S. to a four-point edge heading into the final day of 12 singles matches in Chicago. However, the Europeans mounted a record-tying comeback -- a first of its kind on opposition soil -- and shocked the Americans with the "Miracle at Medinah."
Bishop, who became PGA president months after that loss, then reached out to Tom Watson about returning as Ryder Cup captain after a successful turn in 1993, the last time the U.S. has won on European soil. Watson's second run as captain went poorly, with the U.S. a five-point loser and the Europeans winners for a third-straight time. Watson's style also rubbed many of his players the wrong way, with Phil Mickelson speaking out in the moments after the American defeat in an uncomfortable, public verbal flogging.
The resulting fallout led to the PGA of America forming an 11-man Ryder Cup Task Force charged with auditing the entire U.S. approach to the matches, including selecting a 2016 captain, developing a succession plan and assessing how the American team should prepare the week of the matches. Love is a member of that group, which met for four hours two weeks ago in San Diego ahead of the Farmers Insurance Open.
Love's name did not appear at the top of many speculative lists of potential candidates. It was thought three-time winning Presidents Cup captain Fred Couples was the favorite for the job. The task force contacted Couples about the gig, and he said he was interested, although he acknowledged he's never thought of himself as a "PGA of America guy."
Paul Azinger, the 2008 captain and the last man to lead the U.S. to a win in these matches, was floated as an early candidate, but he refused to be part of the task force. Mickelson had referred specifically to Azinger's approach as one the U.S. should return to in light of Watson's methods.
Love will know his opposition on Wednesday, when the European Tour is expected to announce Darren Clarke as their 2016 captain for the matches at Hazeltine National in Minnesota.
