October 21 2012

3:02 AM

Watch: Final-round highlights

Round 4 recap: The McGladrey Classic

In the final round of The McGladrey Classic from Sea Island Golf Club, Tommy Gainey shoots a 10-under 60 for his first PGA TOUR victory.

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1:19 AM

Toms places second

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- David Toms has quietly amassed an impressive season. Toms carded a final-round 63 to place second with a 15 under total on Sunday at The McGladrey Classic -- his fifth top 10 of 2012. "I wasn't expecting much," Toms said. "I'd just taken off seven weeks and I wasn't expecting much at all. But I came here, I love it here in Sea Island, like the golf course a lot. And I felt like I could play well." Toms tied for third here in 2010. This year, Toms tied for fourth at the U.S. Open and tied for sixth at the Humana Challenge in partnership with the Clinton Foundation. He also had a T8 at the Bridgestone Invitational.

12:52 AM

Furyk comes up short again

Birdie on 15

Jim Furyk makes a birdie at the par-5 15th at The McGladrey Classic on Sunday.

By Bill Cooney, PGATOUR.COM ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- Depending on perspective, Jim Furyk has either had a very good season or a very disappointing one. Furyk is as hard on himself as anyone, so he would likely choose the latter. Furyk entered the final round of The McGladrey Classic tied for the lead with Davis Love III, and carded a respectable final-round 69 to finish third. He was one shot back, needing a birdie on one of the final three holes to catch eventual champion Tommy Gainey. Furyk made par on the 16th, saved par from 13 feet on 17 and pushed his approach right from the middle of the fairway on No. 18, leading to a bogey. "You know, I'm disappointed," said Furyk, who has lost a number of leads this season. "I did battle. I think at times it's probably a little harder, you see the first guy to post, it's harder to chase that score when it's already in when we're on the sixth hole." Furyk finished second at the Transitions Championship, lost the U.S. Open after being tied for the lead after 69 holes, double-bogeyed the 72nd hole to lose the Bridgestone Invitational to Keegan Bradley, and bogeyed his final two holes to lose his singles match at the Ryder Cup to Sergio Garcia. Regardless, Furyk is working on an impressive season. He's had eight top 10s, and has a lower scoring average (69.3 to 69.8) than he had during his remarkable 2010 season.

12:02 AM

Observations from the final round

By Fred Albers, PGA TOUR.COM Correspondent

Tommy Gainey had eight birdies and an eagle in shooting 60 on Sunday, but his tournament was more than just one well-played round . Gainey ranked second for the week in putts per round, second in putts per green and third in strokes-gained putting. That is dramatically different than his season statistics, as he began the week 86th on TOUR in SGP.

Fore left: It happened again. Like at the U.S. Open, like at Bridgestone, like at the Ryder Cup, Jim Furyk hit a hook at a bad time. On the tee at the 17th hole, Furyk hit a hook left of the green. He did manage a par after missing the green, but that hook under pressure is something that will cause Furyk anxiety during the offseason as he contemplates what could have been this year.

Charge:  Everything worked in Gainey's favor on Sunday. It seemed just as he finished the wind picked up 10 mph, making the course -- and in particular the back nine -- play much more difficult. Hole locations for the final round did not lend themselves to a charge, as birdies were difficult to attain. The grain in greens made putts difficult to read. All of those factors made Gainey difficult to catch and made his final-round 60 even more remarkable.

Waiting game: It’s not unusual for a player to post a good number and wait for the leaders to finish, but Gainey had more than two and a half hours to wait after posting his 60. He spent the time watching golf on television and responding to congratulatory phone messages.

School colors: It was an interesting pairing with Harris English and Billy Horschel. English, who went to Georgia, wore blue and orange. Horschel, who went to Florida, wore black and red. Adding to the serendipity, Georgia plays Florida this Saturday.

Bubble boy: With one tournament to play, Billy Mayfair sits squarely on the bubble at No. 125 on the money list headed to Disney and the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals Classic. Mayfair is very familiar with the pressure, in the last three years he has finished 109th, 142nd and 157th in earnings.

Delayed reaction: Gainey’s holeout for eagle at No. 15 might have been the shot of the tournament but it received the most unusual reaction from the gallery. The hole was cut between two mounds and the cup could not be seen from outside the gallery ropes. Gainey saw the ball drop for his eagle and began fist pumps, but it wasn’t until hearing Bob Stevens’ call on PGA TOUR Radio that the gallery joined in the celebration some five seconds as the ball dropped.

Fred Albers is a course reporter for SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio.  For more information on SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio, click here .

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9:12 PM

Congratulate: Tommy Gainey

Tommy Gainey won The McGladrey Classic after shooting a final-round, 10-under 60 for his first PGA TOUR win on Sunday. Gainey was the sixth player to shoot 60 on the PGA TOUR since 2007. His round included just 24 putts. Want to congratulate Gainey? Leave a note in the comments section below and we'll deliver it to him.

9:12 PM

Round 4 recap: Gainey's 1st win

By Bill Cooney, PGATOUR.COM ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- Tommy Gainey came up short in his bid for a 59 -- but that's just fine. He'll settle for his first PGA TOUR victory. Gainey carded eight birdies and holed out from a greenside bunker for eagle on the 15th en route to a 10-under 60 that stood up at The McGladrey Classic on Sunday. Gainey -- who plays with an unconventional swing and is nicknamed "Two Gloves" for wearing both while he swings and putts -- trailed by seven shots entering the final round -- tied for the second-biggest comeback of the season on the PGA TOUR. “It feels like I’m in a dream,” Gainey said from Sea Island Golf Club, where he finished at 16-under 264, one shot ahead of Davis Toms and two in front of Jim Furyk. “I’m just waiting for somebody to slap me up side the head or pinch me or something to wake me up.” Furyk and David Toms made late runs. Furyk birdied the 15th and had a great save from 13 feet on the 17th. Needing a birdie at the last to force a playoff, Furyk pushed his approach right, and made a bogey for another disappointment in a season full of them. Toms carded a 63 and finished in second.
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8:29 PM

Beljan feels 'relief,' nears top 125

By Bill Cooney, PGATOUR.COM ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- The fist pump Charlie Beljan let out on the 18th hole was worthy of a victory. Turns out, Beljan’s finish at The McGladrey Classic on Sunday was a victory of sorts. Beljan made a tricky 4-footer on the 72nd hole to close out a final-round 65 that could result in a top-10 finish, important because Beljan entered this week 150th on the money list. His good play will move him into the top 140 on the money list and likely guarantee him conditional status on the PGA TOUR in 2013. The top 125 earn full exemptions while Nos. 126 to 150 get some status. “That was big,” the 28-year-old Beljan said of his final putt. “The thing was, at The Greenbrier I tied for third and I missed a 5-footer on the last hole for like another 150-grand. So I had that on my mind. It’s just a 4-footer, just keep your head down and hit it in. And that thing went in and it was just relief.” Beljan had missed five of his past seven cuts on TOUR since The Greenbrier Classic. He and wife Merisa also recently welcomed their first child into the world on Sept. 12, a baby boy named Graham. Now Beljan can take a deep breath before he tees it up at the season’s final event, the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals Classic near Disney World in early November. “Extremely happy. I couldn’t be happier,” Beljan said. “I hit it wonderful. I just haven’t made anything. There was a lot on my mind. “With my finish today, I’m going to Disney with the 125 in the back of my mind. It’s a wonderful thing.”

7:29 PM

Watch: Gainey highlights

Eagle on 15

Tommy Gainey holes out from the greenside bunker for an eagle 3 on the 15th hole.

Birdie on 16

Tommy Gainey sinks a 20-footer for birdie on the 16th hole on Sunday.

Almost a 59

Tommy Gainey just misses a birdie putt on the 18th that was for a 59 on Sunday.

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6:47 PM

Gainey misses 59 but still leads

The bad news? Tommy Gainey left a 20-footer for birdie at the 18th hole about an inch short in his bid for an historic 59.

The good news? Gainey still has a golden opportunity to make The McGladrey Classic his first PGA TOUR victory after shooting a 60 in the final round.

Gainey, who started the final round seven shots off the pace set by Jim Furyk and Davis Love III, is now the solo leader at 16 under. He’s two strokes ahead of Furyk and three ahead of Love as the overnight co-leaders play the ninth hole.

“Actually, I was just trying to make birdies, trying to make enough,” Gainey said, noting he thought he would need to get to 18 or 19 under to have a chance for his breakthrough victory. “Winning the golf tournament was way out of my head.”

When he finished, though, Gainey certainly was entertaining the notion.

“It would have been nice to shoot 59 but right now I’d love a W.”

Gainey chipped in for eagle at the 15th hole and made eight birdies. He shot 31 on the front nine and 29 on the back as he reeled off seven straight 3s after a par on the 10th hole.

The 60 is the lowest round on the PGA TOUR this year. There have been nine 61s.

Had Gainey shot 59 it would have been the sixth in TOUR history.


6:30 PM

"Two Gloves" Gainey eyes 59

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- Tommy Gainey is rolling at The McGladrey Classic. Gainey is 10 under thru 17 holes and needs a birdie at the 18th to shoot a 59. He's moved all the way to 16 under -- aided by an eagle on the 15th -- and leads Jim Furyk by three shots at Sea Island Golf Club. Gainey is seeking his first win on the PGA TOUR. He won twice on the Web.com Tour in 2010. Gainey, 86th on the PGA TOUR in strokes gained-putting, is 13th in that stat this week. He is 106th on the money list. The McGladrey has a history of come-from-behind victories. Last season, Ben Crane made up a seven-shot deficit in the final 11 holes to catch Webb Simpson. Crane then beat Simpson in a playoff. Follow Gainey on Shot Tracker.
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