SEA ISLAND, Georgia: Tommy Gainey couldn’t quite reach golf’s magic number of 59 -- but a sparkling 60 was good enough to give him a first US PGA Tour victory at the McGladrey Classic yesterday.
Gainey nabbed eight birdies and holed out from a greenside bunker for eagle on the par-five 15th en route to a 10-under 60 that gave him a 16-under total of 264 and a one-shot victory over David Toms.
A birdie at the last would have made Gainey the sixth player in PGA Tour history to record a 59. He hit his approach inside 20 feet but his birdie attempt came up short.
Nevertheless Gainey trailed by seven shots entering the final round and his comeback matched the second-biggest for a victory on the tour this season.
Gainey’s round included seven successive threes from the 11th -- four of them birdies and one of them his eagle.
He had to wait more than two hours to see if his lead would stand up.
“Got a long way to go,” Gainey said as he walked off the 18th green, with the overnight leaders yet to make the turn.
When it was all over, Gainey was a little emotional.
“It’s been a hard year for me and finally, we got it right,” said the 37-year-old with an unconventional swing and the nickname “Two Gloves” for his habit of wearing gloves on both hands.
“I get bashed all the time about my swing,” Gainey acknowledged, but added: “The only thing that matters is right before impact on the downswing.”
Toms and Jim Furyk both made late runs, Toms finishing with a 63 for 265.
Furyk, still trying to erase the taste of America’s Ryder Cup defeat to a storming European team at Medinah last month, birdied the 15th and made a great par save at 17.
Furyk made just two bogeys but he still couldn’t break through for a first win of a season.AFP
