The home of longtime St. Simons Island, Georgia, resident Davis Love III was destroyed by a fire early Friday morning. Love and his wife Robin were the only people in the residence at the time and escaped without injury.
“While everyone in our family is saddened at the loss of our home that was filled with so much laughter and incredible memories, we’re very blessed that everyone is safe and unharmed,” said Davis Love III, in a statement he released through Melanie Trotter, media relations director of the RSM Classic, the PGA Tour event Love hosts each fall at the Sea Island Club. “We’re very thankful to the first responders who made a valiant effort to save our home, and we’re keeping things in perspective as people across our community and around the world are struggling with the current unprecedented health crisis.”
It’s unclear at this time what caused the fire.
Glynn County fire chief R.K. Jordan said the first call to the dispatch center came at 5:18 a.m. and the first truck arrived on the scene at 5:23 a.m. to find the home fully engulfed. Eventually, three engines, a tanker truck and three rescue vehicles responded.
“It was gone upon our arrival,” Jordan told Jacksonville.com of the second-alarm fire, and noted there were no injuries to the 16 firefighters from multiple units who responded to the blaze. Jordan said the operation was nearly completed by 7:30 a.m., with only a few hot spots to put out. He said the fire marshal has begun his investigation.
Love, 55, the winner of 21 PGA Tour titles, built a home several years ago that was nestled among live oaks and palms on a secluded five-acre lot with prime marsh frontage on St. Simons Island, part of a chain of Georgia barrier islands nicknamed the Golden Isles.
Love is the longest-tenured resident among the island’s many touring pros, playfully called the Sea Island Mafia, arriving as a teenager young enough to start in the cart barn at his first job and cut the crabgrass out of the greens at Sea Island’s Seaside Course with a hook knife. For several years, Love has hosted the Pro-Am draft party for participants in the RSM Classic in a tent in his backyard.
According to realtor.com, the home has been on the market since 2013, and is currently listed for $4.475 million.
The tournament has raised more than $13 million in its first decade to support local charities focused on children and families in need through the Davis Love Foundation. It’s part of what makes him an island institution.
“We’ve been proud members of the St. Simons Island/Sea Island community for many years and will continue to be for many more,” Love said. “We appreciate all your thoughts and prayers and your respect for our privacy.”
Love’s golf mementos included a replica of the Ryder Cup, for which he was the winning captain in 2016, victory belts from teaming with son Dru at the PNC Father-Son Challenge and the Seminole Pro-Member.
Garry Smits of the Florida Times-Union contributed to this story.
