Ryder Cup: Davis Love proud of USA's team ethic at Hazeltine
By Keith Jackson at Hazeltine
Last Updated: 03/10/16 2:21am
Davis Love III attributed Team USA's convincing Ryder Cup victory to a "shift in attitude" towards a better team ethic as they ended a run of three straight defeats at Hazeltine National.
The preparation for this week's contest was in stark contrast to previous years following the formation of the much-publicised task force, which was put in place after Phil Mickelson was fiercely critical of Tom Watson's captaincy two years ago.
The likes of Mickelson and Tiger Woods had a huge say in how the entire squad came together for this week's showdown, and the extra effort was worth the investment as they stormed to a 17-11 victory - just their third in the last 11 Ryder Cups.
"We have been criticised for eight to 10 years for not coming together," said Love, who was also the USA captain when they were stunned by a monumental European fightback on the final day at Medinah in 2012.
"Phil Mickelson, Tiger, Bubba, everyone who played on the team and who didn't play on the team showed we all had a heart and could pull together. 2012 was a great team and we played our hearts out but this is a different 12 and I am super proud of them. We all pulled together for this one.
"We've been kicked around for so long and you keep losing so you feel you have to do something different. There was a bit of rebuilding to do and a little bit of a shift in attitude.
"We are not going to win every one but we are going to go into them with a better attitude."
"I'm extremely proud of this team. They put their heart and soul into this win. They keep thanking me and congratulating me, but I congratulate them - there's a lot of pressure on these guys over the last couple years.
"Obviously we haven't had a good run lately, and I'm thrilled for them that they got the win. I'm proud of the way they competed all week, I'm proud of their attitude, but mostly proud of the way they came together as a family and supported each other.
"We had some interesting things happen this week, starting off with the death of Arnold Palmer, which you know, cast a kind of a dim start to the week. And then we bounced back from that, because we were all together and then now get to celebrate in the end."
