Gainey wins Sea Island with course record of 60

AP

ST SIMONS ISLAND (GEORGIA) TOMMY GAINEY narrowly missed golf’s magic number.

He happily settled for a courserecord 60 at Sea Island, and his first PGA Tour win on Sunday in the McGladrey Classic.

Gainey became the fourth player this year to rally from at least seven shots behind in the final round to win on the PGA Tour. He made seven straight 3s on his way to a 29 on the back nine, and then had to wait more than two hours to see if Jim Furyk or anyone else could catch him.

No one came particularly close.

Tournament host and Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III drove into the water on the 16th and made double bogey.

Furyk made a 12-foot par save on the 17th hole to stay one shot behind, but he pushed his approach well right on the 18th and made his first bogey in 56 holes. “It’s been a hard year for me and finally, we got it right,” Gainey said.

Gainey, a 37-year-old from South Carolina with a homemade swing who is known as “Two Gloves” for wearing black gloves on each hand, joined a long list of unlikely winners this year. He was seven shots behind going into the final round, and his 60 was nearly 9 1/2 shots better than the average score. He wound up with a one-shot victory over David Toms, who closed with a 63.

Toms also needed a birdie on the 18th hole to catch Gainey, but he pushed his drive well right into the bunker and had little chance of reaching the green. “I was thinking about what kind of putt I was going to have before I ever hit the fairway,” Toms said. “You get ahead of yourself and that’s what happens.” Furyk wound up with a 69 to finish alone in third, a sour end to a season filled with bitter memories.

This one won’t sting as much as his bogey on the 16th hole of Olympic Club that cost him a shot at the US Open, or the double bogey on the final hole at Firestone to lose the Bridgestone Invitational, or losing a 1-up lead against Sergio Garcia with two holes to play in the Ryder Cup. He had said at the start of the week that even if he were to win the McGladrey Classic, that’s not what he would remember from his 2012 season.

This time, someone went out and beat him. And Furyk simply couldn’t catch up.

Furyk made only two bogeys all week.

“I think what I’m most disappointed about is when it came down the stretch, hitting the ball pretty much as good as I can, I made really, really poor swings at 17 and 18 with a 7- iron and 8-iron,” Furyk said.

“So to play those two holes and not get one good look at it for birdie was disappointing.”