'Two Gloves' Gainey on his third try, is taking advantage
By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM Chief of Correspondents
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Tommy Gainey is not cut in the most traditional of modes as far as PGA TOUR players go. And that's not just because the former baseball player has a 10-fingered grip and likes to wear two golf gloves when he plays, either.
Gainey grew up near Darlington, S.C., where NASCAR, not golf, is king. He got his industrial maintenance certificate from Central Carolina Tech and went to work on an assembly line, wrapping insulation around water heaters, doing about 1,400 in an eight-hour shift.
But a friend floated him the entry fee for a TearDrop Tour event in Columbia, S.C., in 1997, and everything changed. Gainey won the tournament -- and $15,000 -- that day, and he decided to follow his dream.
The mini-tours weren't always kind to Gainey, who returned to Bishopville, S.C., after two years and started working at the factory again. But two stints on the Golf Channel's "Big Break" series, the second of which he won, helped prepare Gainey to take the next step.
Now Gainey is back on the PGA TOUR for the third time, and golf's ultimate average Joe will take a one-stroke lead into the third round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open. His 36-hole total of 13 under is six strokes better than his previous low, which came at the midway point of the 2008 Children's Miracle Network Classic.
Gainey finished second to Davis Love III that Sunday, thanks to a closing 64, and cashed just the sixth check of his rookie year. The runner-up finish remains Gainey's only top-10 on TOUR in 43 starts.
All that could change on Monday when the Waste Management Phoenix Open concludes its frost-delayed run at TPC Scottsdale. And if it does, Gainey will point to the year he spent on the Nationwide Tour as being instrumental in his growth.
Gainey won twice, had six total top-10s and five more finishes of 25th or better on the Nationwide Tour last year. He finished fourth on the money list, earning more than $400,000, to regain his PGA TOUR card.
"I tell everybody it's night and day difference now because last year winning twice on the Nationwide Tour has kind of boosted my confidence, my self confidence,' Gainey said. "Amongst my friends, they knew I could do it. ... They had all the confidence in the world. But for me to do it against the Nationwide Tour, which has got an incredible field because half the field used to play on the PGA TOUR the last five to eight years, (was a big boost).
"... It's a little different out here because you're still talking about the best players in the world. No knock against the Nationwide Tour because the field is deep and the field is good. But you're talking about the best players in the world out here. You've got to be ready to play or you get lapped every day."
Gainey would be the first to tell you wasn't ready earlier this year, though. He has missed the cut in his first three tournaments, and he hadn't shot in the 60s until he came to the TPC Scottsdale.
"I'm the type of guy, I don't make excuses," Gainey said. "I live in South Carolina, and the weather has been terrible in the winter. But I think it's a part of working hard and getting the rust off. I've played three tournaments in a row, and I think I've finally got to the point now, my swing is getting in a great rhythm.
"I'm hitting it great. I'm making putts, and I think I've got good karma right now. And that's good. I think it's going in the right direction."
Gainey felt like his misses on Saturday weren't that bad, "and we all know golf is a game of misses," he said. His putting is solid, using 27 in each of the first two rounds while hitting 14 of 18 greens. He found more fairways in the second, too, a total of 11 vs. five in the first.
"I like my position," Gainey said. "My ball striking is good. My putting is on track. ... And everybody knows, when you make putts, you've got a chance to win."
Gainey had to be pleased with the way he handled sleeping on a share of the lead, as well. That's a far different proposition than Friday when he finished off his first-round 63 and went directly to the 10th tee to begin his second with a big shot of momentum.
The South Carolinian had nine holes to finish on Saturday morning, though, and he responded by making three straight birdies to bypass Mark Wilson and grab sole possession of the lead. He made a 4-footer at No. 1, a 12-footer at the second and two-putted from 9 feet for another at the par-5 third.
"And I'll tell you what, 4, 5 and 6 was just heart breaking because I had three good putts ... and they could have easily fallen," Gainey said. "But I can't look back and say I wish they would have fallen. But you know, I just shot 6 under, so I'm happy with that. ... My position now is I'm in a groove, and I'm just going to try to keep it going."
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