Davis Love III wants to become the oldest winner in PGA Tour history, a goal that now will have to wait at least three months.
Love, who turns 54 in April, had hip replacement surgery Tuesday.
Thanks to Dr Flanagan @AndrewsSportMed for the new hip and great care! Can't wait to get back to @PGATOUR @randymyersgolf pic.twitter.com/YCe4Yi1UtU
— Davis Love III (@Love3d) November 22, 2017
"I had a hip problem the last few years, and I had a hip resurfacing trying to avoid hip surgery because I'm a chicken," he said over the weekend, "but after playing [in Malaysia and at the Sanderson Farms tournament], I realized it was an uphill battle."
Love said his doctors told him he would need three to four months to recover but that he could start chipping in three to four weeks. He hopes to return to the PGA Tour schedule by March.
Love, who was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame earlier this year, is the third-oldest winner in tour history, having won the 2015 Wyndham Championship at age 51. Sam Snead won the 1965 Greater Greensboro Open at age 52.
"Now I'm excited that I've crossed that bridge,'' Love said at the RSM Classic, where he was the tournament host and missed the cut. "Once I get over that, I can go right back to the tour. I won after a spine fusion [at the 2015 Wyndham], and now I'd like to win with a new hip. That's the reason I'm doing it, so I can get back to golf and keep up.''