Love wants to play on his own Cup team
Davis Love knows he will be on the 2012 US Ryder Cup squad after being selected the American captain last January, but he wants to play his way into the 12-man line-up as well.
The 47-year-old veteran of six Ryder Cup and six Presidents Cup squads also says Americans need to relax against Europe in the Ryder Cup the way they do against the Internationals in the Presidents Cup to be more successful.
But Love hopes to help make that happen from the inside. One year ahead of the qualifying cutoff for eight automatic berths, Love stands in the final playing spot based on points.
"I made 12 (Ryder and Presidents Cup) teams in a row and I've been frustrated ever since," Love said. "I want to make another Ryder Cup team. I'm hitting the ball well enough to play on the team. I just need to make a couple more putts.
"It would rank pretty high. I'm not going to make it when I'm 55 probably, so I need to go ahead and get it done."
Love, whose only major title came at the 1997 PGA Championship, knows the tension of the Ryder Cup quest and the more casual feeling US players have regarding the Presidents Cup and it's non-European line-up.
"We putt better at The Presidents Cup than we do at The Ryder Cup," Love said. "We are The European Team when we play The Presidents Cup. We are a little bit freer and a little bit more relaxed and play more of our game.
"At The Ryder Cup, the American team, they try too hard.
"They want to win too bad. Presidents Cup we relax and play like the Europeans. They do it like one or two points better than us. It's not like a huge difference, and we need to figure out how to have a little bit more fun and relaxation on the course."
Leading America's bid to reclaim the trophy from Europe next year at Medinah has got Love picking out clothing and bag colors and working behind the scenes even as he tries to play his best and keep a watchful eye on young US talent.
"It's going to be pretty volatile because we have so many good young guys that will be bouncing around in the points list," Love said.
"It might be the Scott Stallings and Gary Woodlands and all those guys might have knocked my (Jim) Furyks and Stewart Cinks out. You don't know where we are going to be."
That will put more pressure on Love's four captain's choices.
"What I'm going to be looking for are guys that are hot and that are putting good. We want some experience. You'll have to watch from fourth or fifth down, see what everybody is doing, starting about the middle of next summer."
Love and 2012 European captain Jose Maria Olazabal plan to have the same number of assistant captains next year. Love likes having four but thus far no numbers or names are set.
"I haven't come to any conclusion yet that's worth sharing," Love said. "I've got a long list and I need to shorten it."