Davis Love III, the U.S. Ryder Cup captain, withdrew from the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational after opening with an 8-over-par 78, and his agent said he will have hip surgery next week.
Agent Mac Barnhardt of Largardere Unlimited said the 52-year-old has a torn labrum in his left hip.
“I’ve got to get it fixed,” said Love, who became the third-oldest winner in PGA Tour history when he captured the Wyndham Championship last year. “I don’t want to be limping around at the Ryder Cup.
“It’s not like I’m going to go home and wonder, ‘Now what am I going to do?’ It will give me a lot of time to watch golf and do (Ryder Cup) pairings. I’ll have a lot of scenarios for pairings.”
It will be the third operation in recent years for Love, who had neck surgery in 2013 and a procedure on his right foot in 2015 to correct two dislocated toes and digital contracture, commonly known as hammertoe.
The Ryder Cup is scheduled for Sept. 30-Oct. 2 at Hazeltine and Love expects to be ready for the start of the new PGA Tour season later in October.
