WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. - Davis Love III was aware of what he was getting himself into when the 20-time winner on the PGA Tour accepted his second appointment as Ryder Cup captain.
He has taken what he learned during the 2012 captaincy and hopes to parlay that into a victory in 2016 to end a United States drought in the biennial competition against Europe. The Ryder Cup competition is Sept. 27-Oct. 2, 2016 at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn.
The United States leads the Ryder Cup 25-12-1, but has lost nine of the last 15.
"There isn't a magic thing, it's just getting the guys comfortable with playing under the pressure," said Love, whose 2012 team squandered a four-point lead into the final day in a 141/2-131/2 loss at Medinah Country Club in Illinois.
Love played the third round of the Greenbrier Classic on Saturday at 1-under, putting him at 4-under into Sunday's final round.
He utilized his time also to get to know his potential team members.
Players are selected based on prize money in official PGA Tour events during the current season - which will be 2016 for the next competition - and prize money earned in major championships in the previous season. The period to concludes after the PGA Championship.
Love is eligible to play on the Champions Tour, but injuries - neck fusion surgery and toe surgery - have limited him to 37 events from 2013 and 2014. The 1997 winner of the PGA Championship had one top 10, six missed cuts and two withdrawals in 15 events two years ago and missed seven cuts with no top 25s in 22 starts last year.
"We just have to relax and play and that means being better prepared and better coached," Love said. "I have to do a better job as a coach. My wife and I did a great job of preparing the team to have a great experience, but maybe I didn't do a good enough job as a coach."
The 51-year-old Love also is serving as an assistant to Fred Couples for this year's Presidents Cup competition in October.
"I'm hanging around a little bit, because I feel like I missed a lot the last two years because of injuries," said Love, who played with Bubba Watson and Bill Haas (Jay Haas' son) during the Classic. "Being out here, I played a practice round with Justin Thomas, who I've known for a long time, but it's good to spend time with them. That way, they know me and I know them. We'll be on a team and be more comfortable."
Controversy surrounded the 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles, headlined by Phil Mickelson questioning the leadership of captain Tom Watson, the former pro emeritus at the Greenbrier after Watson was rumored to question the play of his competitors during a team meeting.
Paul Azinger, who captained the United States to its most-recent Ryder Cup victory in 2008, said last year that he allowed his players to have more input, including making the captain's picks. Conversely, Mickelson said last year that, "nobody was in on any decision."
That doesn't mean Love will give that much responsibility to the players who qualify for the team, but he wants to strengthen the relationships.
However, he has the respect of the Tour's players, which is a good start.
"I think that's why they asked me to do it again because I am a friend to a lot of these guys and I've always been fair and understand the game well," said Love, among the ambassadors of the PGA Tour. "They trust me. The guys that I sat out weren't happy, but it was an easier conversation because we were friends. I have a star in Dustin Johnson and I'm sitting him out. If you're not comfortable with each other, that's a hard conversation. Matt Kuchar and those guys, I'm trying to do the best for the team. We have Tiger, Phil, Furyk, Tom Lehman all those guys are working together to try to make this the most prepared and confident team that we've had in a long time."
Contact Assistant Sports Editor Rich Stevens at richstevens@dailymailwv.com or 304-348-4837. Follow him on Twitter @richdailymail
The Ryder Cup Task Force announced the following changes in connection with the process to assemble U.S. Ryder Cup Teams:
* Vice-Captains - Team USA will feature four Vice-Captains, composed of two former U.S. Ryder Cup Captains and two additional individuals with extensive Ryder Cup experience.
* Points System - All U.S. players will earn points based upon the following criteria starting in 2015 and concluding Aug. 28, 2016.
-- 2015 Major Championships (1 Point per $1,000 earned)
The Masters, U.S. Open, Open Championship, PGA Championship
-- 2015 WGC Events and The Players Championship (1 Point per $2,000 earned)
WGC Cadillac Championship, WGC Match Play Championship, The Players Championship, WGC Bridgestone Invitational, WGC HSBC Champions
-- 2016 Regular PGA TOUR Events (1 point per $1,000 earned)
Beginning Jan. 1, 2016, through and including the Barclays on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016
-- 2016 Opposite Field PGA TOUR Events will not receive any points
-- 2016 Major Championships (2 points per $1,000 earned)
* The Top Eight - Eight of the 12 members of the U.S. Team will be named on points earned following the conclusion of The Barclays, which is scheduled to conclude Sunday Aug. 28, 2016. This new timetable gives two additional weeks for players to earn Ryder Cup qualifying points.
* Captain's Picks - Three of the four Captain's Picks will be announced after the conclusion of the BMW Championship, which is scheduled to conclude on Sunday, Sept. 11, 2016. The final Captain's pick will take place Sunday evening after the TOUR Championship, Sept. 25, 2016. This new timetable also is pushed back two weeks.
NOTE - Information from the Ryder Cup 2016 website