WEEKEND UPDATE: Four-Time eGolf Tour Winner Tommy Gainey Collects First Nationwide Tour Title


Tommy Gainey

By Stewart Moore

College Park, MDJune 7, 2010 – Longtime eGolf Tour player Tommy "Two Gloves" Gainey carded rounds of 69-69-64-65—267 to claim his first Nationwide Tour title at the Prince George's County Open presented by Under Armour over the weekend, in turn collecting $108,000 and moving from No. 18 to No. 2 on the 2010 money list.

Gainey, who finished second and fourth on the tour's money list in 2006 and 2007, respectively, entered the final round in a tie for fourth thanks in part to a third-round 64 that vaulted him into contention after making the cut by just two shots. He would trade punches throughout the final round with PGA TOUR veteran Frank Lickliter II and overnight leader Jin Park, but the tournament would come down to the final hole before being decided.

When Lickliter rolled in a 25-foot birdie putt at the 72nd hole, Gainey was suddenly in a tie for the lead at 16-under par. Playing in the day's next-to-last threesome, Gainey laced a 3-hybrid on the par-5 18th to 35 feet to set up a possible winning two putt.

"I was nervous. I was just trying to get it close," said Gainey of his first putt at the last. "It was downhill, side hill with two to three feet of break. I was trying to make it easy for myself on the second putt. I didn't want to have to grind over a four or five-footer. I had perfect speed for the putt but I didn't read the break right."

When Gainey's eagle attempt settled 3 feet from the hole, he was able to tap in the go-ahead birdie putt, with only Park still on the course with the ability to catch him. When Park's approach to the 72nd found a greenside bunker, and his third shot wound up just below the hole, Gainey was deemed the champion. It was the first win of his Nationwide Tour career.

"I'm happy," said Gainey, who played the PGA TOUR in 2008. "It's a feeling that you can't explain. It will probably take a couple of days to sink in."

From 2005 through 2007, Gainey collected four wins on the eGolf Tour en route to quickly becoming one of the best developmental tour players in the country. His home-grown swing and wearing of two golf gloves during a round easily endeared him to a national television audience when he starred on Golf Channel's "Big Break" series.

With $191,640 in 2010 earnings alone, Gainey has all but locked up his PGA TOUR card for 2011. At the conclusion of the season, the top 25 players on the Nationwide Tour money list will receive their TOUR cards for the following year.

"It's unbelievable. I don't know any other way to describe it," Gainey said. "This is one step in getting back to the PGA TOUR but this is also to say that these guys out here on the Nationwide Tour are really great players. There are no slouches out here."

Park, himself a former eGolf Tour player, would tie Lickliter for second place on the week after converting his short birdie try at the 72nd hole.

Former tour player Nick Flanagan, who came to the United States in 2005 to play the eGolf Tour alongside fellow Australian James Nitties, finished in a tie for fourth at 15-under 269 – two shots behind Gainey.

David Mathis (T10), Adam Meyer (T10), Jesse Hutchins (T12), William McGirt (T12) and Justin Peters (T12) round out the eGolf Tour representation inside the top 15 in Maryland last weekend.

McGirt, one of the Nationwide Tour's best players this year, now has four top-15 finishes in seven starts this year and moved up to No. 20 on the money list following his T12 at the Prince George's County Open.

Other eGolf Tour players to make the cut in College Park include Fabian Gomez (T17), Scott Stallings (T22), Darron Stiles (T22), Kevin Chappell (T30), Justin Hicks (T35), Gary Christian (T37), Kevin Kisner (T37), Jay Woodson (T41), Michael Clark II (T46), Kyle Thompson (T46), George Bradford (T46), Jess Daley (T52), Bobby MacWhinnie (T60) and Trevor Murphy (62). For complete results from the Melwood Prince George's County Open on pgatour.com, please click here.

  • At the PGA TOUR's Memorial Tournament presented by Morgan Stanley, Brendon de Jonge was the low eGolf Tour player with rounds of 71-69-65-75—280 and a T12 finish. The former Virginia Tech star entered the final round in a tie for fifth, but suffered a double-bogey on the daunting par-3 12th at Muirfield Village Golf Club and was not able to recover. It was his fourth top-15 finish of the 2010 season and helped move him to No. 48 on the FedExCup points list. Two-time eGolf Tour winner Steve Marino continued his stellar play of late with a T19 finish in Dublin, OH over the weekend. Marino posted rounds of 68-71-71-72—282 to notch his seventh top-25 finish in 14 starts this season. The veritable ATM machine has earned $1,177,322 this year and is currently No. 37 on the TOUR's money list. Two-time tour winner Tom Gillis rounded out the eGolf representation at The Memorial with a T41 finish. For complete results from The Memorial Tournament on pgatour.com, please click here.