CBS Sports Golf Telecast shares heartwarming health update about former PGA Champion

Jim Nantz took a moment to recognize one of the most beloved figures in the game.

Midway through the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open, CBS Producer Sellers Shy directed his team to a cut to a shot of the Pacific Ocean, an opportune time for lead announcer Jim Nantz to deliver a piece of news.

At first, Nantz sounded rather solemn about what he had to share. His delivery was rather somber, too. But then Nantz delivered a heartwarming update about a beloved PGA Tour pro.

Davis Love III, the winner of the 1997 PGA Championship at Winged Foot, recently underwent open-heart surgery and has since returned home to Sea Island, Georgia.

Nantz, who chatted with Love III on the phone before Saturday’s final round, explained how Love III had this operation last week at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida. The procedure replaced “a leaky valve that was detected about 10 years ago,” and this surgery had been planned for some time. It was not entirely out of the blue.

Nantz then added that Love III will be able to drive again in March and will then be allowed to hit some putts in April.

“I went in healthy,” Love III said to Nantz over the phone.

“And I came out healthier.”

Love III now faces a lengthy recovery period, but his recuperation is directly tied to this week’s Farmers Insurance Open. Sea Island’s director of golf fitness, Randy Myers, who Love III has worked with already, happens to be Andrew Novak’s father-in-law.

Novak began Saturday’s final round one shot back of 54-hole leader Harris English and is currently trying to claim his first PGA Tour title at Torrey Pines.

Love III, meanwhile, last competed at the RSM Classic in November, which he hosts annually. However, he withdrew after an opening-round 82.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Follow him on X @jack_milko.