Welcome to this edition of From the Locker room, we get behind the stats and the news reels to bring you insight straight from the players.

Recently we had the chance to sit down with Andy Love, Founding Member of the Tour and 4-time RyDov Cup player. Love has 4.5 points to his name, 8th on the all-time points list, a 75%-win rate in the singles format and 25% in the Greensomes. In 2018 Love took part in the inaugural EuroDov Cup at La Manga Resort, Spain.

We caught up with Love in the off-season and chatted all things Order of Merit.

At the end of the 2020 season Love made a major equipment change, he committed to the Callaway XR Pro Driver, 3 wood and 5 wood he put in the bag in the middle of the season and complimented them with a 4 hybrid and 4i-GW Cobra Speed Zone One length irons and a new Cleveland Huntington Beach mallet putter.

Talking with the team Love said, “[his] new set-up isn’t a fad, whilst a lot of players on the tour are not fans of the one length club, it suits his game and is delivering greater consistency. Where I struggled with the longer and shorter irons before, I now enjoy the consistent strike I saw with my mid-irons in previous years.”

On the future of his game, and for 2021 he said, “I hope, and believe it’ll deliver for me on the course, but talking won’t prove it, wait till the season opens then we can judge them.”

2021 is the inaugural Order of Merit, Love has featured in the first edition of every tournament hosted by the Tour and says, “I am happy for the opportunity to work on my game and prove myself against my peers. The [OoM] format isn’t as important to me as the opportunity to compete.”

The OoM is the first multi-event tournament on the Tour schedule and with it comes challenges on consistency, changing courses, weather etc. however Love is relishing this, “the RyDov Cup is a great event, but one bad day and you need to wait an entire year to right it.” Looking at the OoM he says, “I’m looking forward to being able to improve from event-to-event. Having the chance to build some momentum over the season and learn a few lessons about myself and my game.”

Love has been a journeyman student of the game, refining his skills across a range of courses close to home. During the 7 stop season he’ll play a few familiar tracks and on the matter of homefield advantage he says, “I’d like to think [my knowledge of some of the courses] will be a benefit to me. Being one of the higher handicappers in the field I think I’ll look to any advantage I can garner to make me competitive.”

Whilst he acknowledges the benefit of playing different courses, he reflects that, “I do enjoy playing courses I’m familiar with as a lot of the guess work about what lies ahead of you is gone and you can just focus and enjoy your game.”

With 7 venues in use throughout the season there is much to look forward to for the field, however for Love the prospect of starting the season at the Home of Golf at St Andrews has to be the highlight. He is relishing the opportunity to take to the links and have, “a chance to lay down a marker at a top-class course.”

Whilst winning the Order of Merit is what every player wants to do come August this year, it is a long season and goals come in all shapes and sizes, Love reflects that he has, “a few individual goals that I’ll be keeping fairly private. I don’t expect to meet all of them - if I did, I’d say I’d not be setting my sights high enough.”

As for the competition he says he’d, “like to be competitive in every round and give a good account of myself. I can’t control others performances, so I’m just going to take on each course and see how I do.”

Looking to August and who might be crowned Champion Golfer of the Year Love was unequivocal in his choice, “If Stuart Allan can play front 9s, the way he plays back 9s, there is no-one who can contend with him.”

The time with Love was insightful; Love is clearly a player at an important juncture in his golfing life. A player that no longer sees it as something to do, but one that sees it as something to master, a game to develop within.

His focus on his deliverables and that which is with in is control is refreshing, in a seven-player field it will get busy at times during the season, and when points start accumulating and pressures build holding on to that focus will serve him well.

One can’t help but sense that 2021 might just be a season to remember for Love.