Player Profile: Tommy Gainey

On Sunday, America's Tommy Gainey won the McGladrey Classic and lifted the trophy for the first time on the US PGA Tour. This week's player profile introduces golf fans to this talented player who is making his presence felt on the North American golf circuit.

37-year-old Gainey was born in 1975 in Darlington, South Carolina. As a talented and natural golfer, Gainey is mostly self-taught and began his golfing career in 1997 before graduating from Central Carolina Technical College in 1999. The young Gainey worked in the manufacturing sector before taking up golf as a professional occupation.

Gainey's early career was spent on several second-tier professional tours in the southern United States, including the Tarheel Tour, the Hooters Tour and the Gateway Tour. After eight victories on these tours, Gainey qualified for the PGA Tour at the end of 2007 when he scored T-19 at Qualifying School.

Making his PGA Tour debut in the 2008 season, Gainey worked hard on his technique as he weathered the pressures of competing at the highest level of American golf. His rookie year appeared to be a challenging one, until a second place finish at the Disney Classic late in 2008 boosted Gainey's ranking to 148th on the PGA Tour's money list.

Between 2009 and 2011, Gainey split his time between the PGA and Nationwide Tours. As his game continued to improve, the self-taught Gainey gained sufficient skill and confidence to card two wins in the 2010 season at the Prince George's County Open and the Chiquita Classic – two Nationwide Tour events that helped boost the golfer's rankings once again and allowed him to focus his attention on the PGA Tour on a permanent basis.

On Sunday, Gainey was victorious for the first time on the PGA Tour at the McGladrey Classic. Golf fans should keep an eye on this talented player as he continues his successful career in North America.

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