Tommy Gainey
Personal information
Full name	Tommy Gainey
Nickname	Two Gloves
Born	(1975-08-13) August 13, 1975 (age 36) Darlington, South Carolina
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight	190 lb (86 kg; 14 st)
Nationality	United States
Residence	Darlington, South Carolina
Career
College	Central Carolina Technical College
Turned professional	1998
Current tour(s)	PGA Tour
Former tour(s)	Nationwide Tour
Professional wins	7
Number of wins by tour
Nationwide Tour	2
Other	5
Best results in Major Championships
Masters Tournament	DNP
U.S. Open	DNP
The Open Championship	DNP
PGA Championship	CUT: 2011

Tommy Gainey (born August 13, 1975), also known as "Two Gloves", is an American professional golfer on the PGA Tour.

Early pro career[link]

Gainey was born in Darlington, South Carolina. He attended the Central Carolina Technical College just outside of Darlington. Prior to becoming a professional golfer, he worked on an assembly line in South Carolina, wrapping insulation around hot water heaters for A.O. Smith Corporation. He turned professional in 1998, and for the next several years played golf on smaller tours in the southern United States. Gainey has won four events on the Egolf Tarheel Tour, two in 2006 and one in 2007. He also won an event on the NGA Hooters Tour, and he has played on the Gateway Tour.

The Big Break[link]

Gainey appeared in 2005 on the Golf Channel's Big Break USA vs Europe, and The Reunion ^{[disambiguation needed ]}. He is the first Big Break alumnus to earn a PGA Tour card.

Nationwide Tour[link]

In 2007 he played the Nationwide Tour, and earned his PGA Tour card through graduating from Q-School, finishing the six rounds T-19, after going through all three elimination stages of qualifying, a total of 14 rounds.

2008 and 2009: PGA Tour[link]

He played on the PGA Tour in 2008, but was not very successful for most of the season. He made only five cuts in 23 events and was 228th on the money list entering the last event of the season, the Children's Miracle Network Classic at the Walt Disney World Resort. In the last round, playing the Magnolia Course, he shot a 64 and finished second only to Davis Love III by one stroke. This runner-up finish vaulted Gainey inside the top 150 (148th, an 80-spot leap) on the money list, and gave him conditional status for the 2009 season. He struggled on the PGA Tour (eight cuts in fifteen events, 202nd on the money list) and returned to the Nationwide Tour for 2010.

2010: Nationwide Tour[link]

His first big win on a significant golf tour came in 2010 on the Nationwide Tour at the Melwood Prince George's County Open. Gainey won the event by one stroke over Frank Lickliter II and Jin Park. His second win came later that year in July at the Chiquita Classic, winning by three strokes over Joe Affrunti. He finished fourth on the Nationwide's money list and returned to the PGA Tour in 2011.

2011: PGA Tour[link]

Gainey's second chance at the PGA Tour in 2011 has seen him struggle initially, but then hit peak form. After missing the cut for his first three events, he made six consecutive cuts. Gainey challenged strongly at the 2011 Waste Management Phoenix Open in Scottsdale, Arizona, and was in contention late in the final round, but made a quadruple-bogey 8 on the par-4 17th hole; he finished tied for 8th.^[1] He posted a fifth-place finish at the Honda Classic in Florida a few weeks later.^[2] Gainey's best 2011 Tour finish came at The Heritage in Hilton Head, South Carolina, when he had a 15-foot putt on the 72nd green to tie clubhouse leader Brandt Snedeker, but missed it to finish in third place.^[3] Gainey's strong play in 2011 has boosted his world ranking to a personal best of 89.^[4] He also played in his first major, the 2011 PGA Championship.

Playing style, sponsors[link]

Gainey wears black, wet-weather golf gloves, one on each hand, at all times when playing golf -- even while putting. Gainey's first sport was baseball, where wearing two batting gloves is common. He simply transferred that practice to golf when he picked up this sport.^[5]

Gainey uses the very rare baseball grip on full shots, where he hooks his left (top) thumb behind his right hand; normal position for the left thumb for a righthander in golf is under the right thumb. His swing is also notably jerky and eccentric, and has been described as "trying to kill a snake with a garden hose." ^[6]

His early employer A.O. Smith continues to sponsor Gainey. His other 2011 sponsors included Under Armour, Adams Golf and The Dow Group.

In 2012 Gainey made the switch to Callaway Clubs, and he continues to be sponsored by A.O. Smith and The Dow Group.^[7]

Professional wins (7)[link]

Nationwide Tour wins (2)[link]

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning Score	Margin of Victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Jun 6, 2010	Melwood Prince George's County Open	-17 (69-69-64-65=267)	1 stroke	Frank Lickliter II, Jin Park
2	Jul 18, 2010	Chiquita Classic	-27 (64-66-62-69=261)	3 strokes	Joe Affrunti

Other wins (5)[link]

• 2006 Patriots Point Open (Egolf Tarheel Tour), River Run Classic (Egolf Tarheel Tour)
• 2007 Oldfield Open (Egolf Tarheel Tour), Bentonville Open (Hooters Tour)
• ???? One win in 2004 or 2005 (Egolf Tarheel Tour)

Results in major championships[link]

DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.

See also[link]

• 2007 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates
• 2010 Nationwide Tour graduates

References[link]

External links[link]

• Tommy Gainey at the PGA Tour official site
• Tommy Gainey at the Official World Golf Ranking official site