Fan favorite Gainey still working hard on TOUR

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Tommy Gainey is nicknamed "Two Gloves" because he wears golf gloves on both hands.

Four years ago, the scene would have almost been inconceivable.

There was Tommy Gainey, a country boy from Bishopville, S.C., strolling up the 18th fairway during the final round of a PGA TOUR event, alongside golfing giant Ernie Els. And, for the length of his walk up the famous closing hole at the Harbour Town Golf Links, the fans in the gallery and in the luxury boxes were effusive in their cheers as they approached the green.

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For Gainey.

Since his rise from obscurity to pop culture status through his participation in GOLF CHANNEL's "Big Break VII," Gainey has become sort of a mini-star. Known as Tommy "Two Gloves" because of his habit of wearing golf gloves on both hands, Gainey has carved out a warm spot in the heart of golf fans everywhere. He's just a regular guy, the kind of fellow you'd like to have over on Saturday afternoon to grill some meat, shoot a little pool and watch a college football game. The support has been noticed, too.

"I'm very thankful for all the support the fans have shown me," Gainey said during the Verizon Heritage. "They've been great."

Gainey enjoyed an extra level of support during the Verizon Heritage. Hilton Head Island is about 90 minutes away from his home town of Darlington, where he worked as an assembly line worker before opting to try professional golf. Gainey is generally accepted as a nice guy who earned his magic ticket to the PGA TOUR.

"This is the way I was raised. What you see is what you get," Gainey said. "I feel blessed to be out here."

Gainey wasn't born into golfing greatness. Once deciding to become a professional golfer in 1997, he fought his way through the bush leagues and the various mini-tours, where a payday could never be taken for granted. He excelled on the Gateway Tour and later on the Hooters Tour. He went to the PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament for the first time in 2007 and earned his card.

That was just half the battle. Going into the final event of his rookie season, Gainey had almost no hope of keeping his card. Somehow he summoned his best performance of the year, a solo second at the Children's Miracle Network Classic. The big purse boosted him from No. 228 to No. 149 on the money list, which was just enough to provide him conditional status for 2009.

Those who finish in the category from No. 126 to No. 150 get a mixed blessing. Most of the time guys in that category have to show up at an event as an alternate and wait around to see if enough people withdraw. It's the equivalent of golfing purgatory.

"It's not easy being in that category," Gainey admitted, although did so without whining or complaining.

He wasn't able to get in the field at last week's Zurich Classic of New Orleans, where he started the week as the No. 9 alternate. He could have played at the Nationwide Tour's South Georgia Classic, but opted instead to take his chances in New Orleans. Not enough guys dropped out; he wound up as the No. 3 alternate. He's not in the field or on site for this week's Quail Hollow Championship in Charlotte; he knew there was no chance enough players would drop out of one of the TOUR's top events

This year Gainey has played in only six events and made the cut four times. He has two top-25 showings, a tie for 26th at the Buick Invitational and a tie for 21st at the Puerto Rico Open presented by Banco Popular. He's made $92,074, leaving him 162nd on the FedExCup points list.

Most of the time Gainey starts the week playing with golfers close to his own qualification number, guys like Marc Leishman or Matthew Borchert or Bill Lunde. He was paired with local favorite Tadd Fujikawa at the Sony Open. He's also had a chance to play with established TOUR winners like Bart Bryant, Ryuji Imada and Camilo Villegas. But very few graduates of South Carolina Technical College can say they walked up the 18th hole with the Big Easy.

"Ernie was great, very much a gentleman," Gainey said. "I can certainly see why he's as popular as he is all over the world."

And while Two Gloves isn't close to Els in terms of golfing royalty, it's nice to see that a pedigree isn't required to stay on the PGA TOUR. It all comes down the results, which is fine with Gainey. All he ever asked for was a chance.

Stan Awtrey is a freelance columnist for PGATOUR.COM. His views do not necessarily reflect the views of the PGA TOUR.