Davis Love III gives son a US tour lesson

Davis Love III has a chance to become the oldest US PGA Tour winner at age 53 after carding a seven-under 63 in the opening round of the Greenbrier Classic

Davis Love III

Davis Love III has shown he can still shoot low scores on the US PGA Tour at age 53, carding a 63. (AAP)

He may be aged 53 but Davis Love III can still teach his son a thing or two about scoring on the US PGA Tour.

Love outdid son Davis Love IV - aka Dru - by 11 shots, shooting a seven-under 63 in the opening round of the Greenbrier Classic at White Sulphur Springs in West Virginia.

It left him in second place, two shots behind Colombia's Sebastian Munoz.

Love is looking for his first win since the 2015 Wyndham Championship, which made him the third-oldest winner in PGA Tour history. He will become the oldest if he wins this week.

A winner of 21 US Tour titles, including the 1997 PGA Championship, he is playing in the same tournament as his son for the first time after both secured sponsor invitations.

Slowed this year by a bad back and a broken collarbone sustained in a January snowboarding accident in Sun Valley, Idaho, he took advantage of an Old White course softened by overnight rain for his best round of the season.

"I've been working real hard the last couple of weeks on trying to fix my swing to kind of swing around a stiff back and a stiff hip," the elder Love said. "I've given up on hitting it a long way."

There is plenty of friendly rivalry between the two Loves, with strapping 23-year-old Dru trying to following in father's footsteps, having qualified for the recent US Open where his dad carried his bag.

It doesn't matter if it's coming down the stretch Sunday or a Monday afternoon practice round," Dru Love said this week. "He's going to try just as hard to beat me. I get it from him. I'm super competitive."

Despite hitting the ball significantly further, Dru Love carded a 74 to be tied 141st and faces a huge task to survive the cut.

Matt Jones is the leading Australian, shooting a 66 to be tied 13th, with Geoff Ogilvy next best after a 71.

The 24-year-old Munoz was boosted by five birdies on the back nine in his tournament-leading 61.

Defending champion Danny Lee of New Zealand shot a 64 along with David Lingmerth, Ben Martin, rookie Xander Schauffele, and Canadians Graham DeLaet and Nick Taylor.

Players were allowed to lift and clean their golf balls in the fairway because of the wet conditions. It took a full year after the June 2016 floods that killed 23 statewide to get Old White back to playing conditions.


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Source: AAP



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