Tommy Gainey holed out for eagle at No. 13 to take the lead for good and went on to win his first PGA Tour Champions title at the Constellation Furyk & Friends on Sunday in Jacksonville, Fla.
Gainey started the day four shots off the pace at Timuquana Country Club but posted a 6-under-par 66 to finish the three-round event at 14-under 202. The 50-year-old walked in a birdie at the last hole for a two-shot victory over Australia’s Cameron Percy (69).
Matt Gogel stood tall after the first two rounds, his Saturday 64 boosting him to a three-stroke lead on the field. But he carded six bogeys on Sunday, pushing him out of contention en route to a 3-over 75. Gogel tied for third with Steve Flesch (66), Denmark’s Thomas Bjorn (68), Fiji’s Vijay Singh (70) and Australian Brendan Jones (69).
Gainey, known for wearing two gloves when he plays and for competing on the former Golf Channel reality show “The Big Break,” won one time on the PGA Tour. He said his first senior victory was no gimme.
“I’ve been doing a lot of (Monday qualifiers),” Gainey told Golf Channel. “It’s been a lot of pressure doing these Mondays because let’s face it, these guys are still legends so they still can play. I’m just so happy right now. I’ve grinded for a long time and finally I can safely say that grinding and that hard work paid off.”
Gainey birdied the first, fourth and 12th holes to draw into a tie for the lead with Gogel and Singh. His second shot at the par-5 13th came up short of the green, but he elected to putt his third shot uphill from the fairway.
He judged both the speed and the direction perfectly. Gainey’s ball slowed down a few feet from the hole and fell in, which dropped him to his knees.
“I thought I left it short,” Gainey said. “I had a really great line on it and I knew if it got to the hole it was going in. Then I dropped to my knees and then it finally fell. So it was like a God-answered prayer.”
Gainey bogeyed the next hole, his only misstep of the day, but he got the stroke back with a two-putt birdie at the par-5 15th. From there, his competitors bowed out; Singh finished bogey-bogey and Gogel continued to plummet.
Percy had three of his four birdies on the back nine but missed opportunities to tie him at 13 under at each of the last three holes.
The win also ensured Gainey will compete in the Charles Schwab Cup playoffs that begin in two weeks. Next week’s SAS Championship marks the final regular-season event, and only the top 72 players qualify for the three-leg playoffs. Gainey began the week No. 73 in the standings and is projected to jump to No. 37.
