‘Two Gloves’ Tommy Gainey on a mission: Defy calendar, show that life begins at 50

Time marches on, and tiptoeing gingerly toward milestone birthdays — those that end in zeros — comes naturally. Good-natured zingers from friends about advancing years rank alongside death and taxes on the sure-thing list.

Then, there are guys like Tommy Gainey. He could not wait to hit “The Big Five O.”

“I had looked forward to August 13, 2025 for a long time,” he said.

Indeed, reaching the milestone 50th birthday changed his professional life. Peeling one page off the calendar made him eligible for the PGA Champions Tour.

“I went from have zero chance to win (on the PGA and Korn Ferry tours) to having a legitimate chance to win,” said Gainey, the Darlington native who lives in Hartsville.

Braggadocio? No. Rather, in his first tournament against players 50 and older, he tied for fifth and is living a dream.

He made three cuts in four PGA Tour starts and advanced to the weekend three times in 13 Korn Ferry events this year before seizing the chance to challenge the likes of Miguel Angel Jimenez, Ernie Els, Padraig Harrington and Bernhard Langer.

But opportunity is of no great value without the ability to take advantage — and Gainey did, at least in his first venture, the Rogers Charity Classic in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

“It’s been a whirlwind,” he said.

First, with no Champion Tour status, he had to earn a spot in the tournament through qualifying. He did, shooting a 6-under-par 65, on Tuesday.

“I had to sweat out 45 minutes or so to see if that would be good enough or if we would have a playoff,” he said.

Then, he posted rounds of 64-64-69—197, 13-under par, to share fifth place. The top-10 finish earned him a spot in the Ally Challenge that concludes Sunday in Grand Blanc, Michigan.

He laughed in relating the post-qualifying scenario.

“I had a rental car, no place to stay, no concrete plans,” Gainey said. “Well, the volunteers were wonderful. Within an hour, I had a hotel room, a courtesy car and my rental car returned to the airport.”

Gainey, of course, is nicknamed “Two Gloves” for the obvious reason; he wears two gloves when he plays. He has a homemade swing that makes purists cringe but works for him. He emerged from working in a plant building water heaters to winning once on the PGA Tour and three times on the Korn Ferry.

He still has plenty of game, just not the distance required to succeed against the younger guys.

“I’m hitting hybrids and sometimes 3-woods (into greens) and (PGA and Korn Ferry players) are hitting short irons,” he said. “I still can get it 275, 280 yards off the tee, but they’re hitting 325 or more.

“You know the PGA guys, but I’ll tell you, the players on the Korn Ferry Tour are really, really good. It’s unbelievable how talented they are.”

The Champions Tour players are mostly like Gainey, greatly skilled but without the distance to compete over the long haul with the bombers.

“Remember the old PGA Tour saying ‘These Guys Are Good’?” Gainey asked rhetorically. “Well, on this tour, it’s ‘These Guys Are Still Good.’ ”

Gainey started his second Champions tournament Friday in a threesome with Alex Cejka and Rocco Mediate. With no cut, he’s guaranteed to compete in all three rounds.

Then?

“I had one good week and want to do that again,” he said. “My goal is always to win, but I want to finish at least high enough to get into the next tournament.”

With no status, he needs a top-10 finish this week or a sponsor’s exemption to play in the tour’s next stop, Sept. 5-7 in St. Louis. If he falls short, he will attempt to qualify on the Tuesday prior to the event.

“That’s the plan every tournament,” Gainey said, noting that he is already 88th in the season-long points standings, and the top 72 in October advance to the playoffs. “It’s all been great so far, and I want to keep going.”

If he does, he’s a guy to illustrate that life can begin at 50.

Chip shots. The Royal Bank of Canada announced a multi-year extension of its title sponsorships of the PGA Tour’s RBC Heritage and the RBC Canadian Open. The Heritage, set for April 16-19 on Hilton Head Island, again will be a Signature Event. ... Qualifiers for the U.S. Mid-Amateur include Patrick Stephenson (Columbia) and Jeffrey Long (Murrells Inlet) at Solina CC and Chandler Mulkey (Johns Island) and Brian Quackenbush (Aiken) at Mid-Carolina Club.

This story was originally published August 22, 2025 at 1:13 AM with the headline "‘Two Gloves’ Tommy Gainey on a mission: Defy calendar, show that life begins at 50."