’10 times harder than when I came up’: Veteran pro selflessly surrenders spot in season opener

Tommy “Two Gloves” Gainey has seen it all during his long career in pro golf. The Tour veteran has won on the Korn Ferry Tour, PGA Tour and the PGA Tour Champions. Thanks to a past Korn Ferry win, Gainey is eligible for the season-opening event in the Bahamas next week.

But he won’t be playing.

According to a report from Monday Q Info, Gainey, now 50, decided to surrender his spot in the event to allow a younger pro an opportunity to forge a career.

Here’s what you need to know.

Tommy Gainey’s unique path to golf stardom

Gainey became a known quantity in golf households long before he showed up on the PGA Tour. He originally got his big break on Golf Channel’s old show “Big Break” (which is returning in 2026). He debuted on the show in 2005, then won the 2007 season.

Over the next few years, he bounced between the Korn Ferry Tour (then known as the Nationwide Tour) and PGA Tour, then captured two Nationwide wins in 2010 to earn his full PGA Tour card.

He reached his PGA Tour peak in 2012, when he shot an incredible final-round 60 to win the McGladrey Classic.

After years of on-course struggles and off-course controversy, Gainey returned to the winner’s circle at the Korn Ferry Tour’s 2020 Bahamas Great Exuma Classic. It was his third win on the tour, and it gave Gainey an exemption into the event through 2026.

But Gainey has designs to play a different tour this year, which brings us to his selfless act.

Gainey gives up spot in Korn Ferry Tour season opener

Next week, the Korn Ferry Tour’s 2026 season begins at the 2026 Bahamas Golf Classic at Atlantis Paradise Island. It’s the beginning of a yearlong quest in which young pros will battle to graduate to the PGA Tour.

Gainey is exempt thanks to his 2020 victory at the event. But two things happened last season that altered Gainey’s future in pro golf.

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First, he turned 50, thereby becoming eligible for the PGA Tour Champions. Second, he won.

After his birthday last summer, Gainey played nine PGA Tour Champions events. He earned a T5 in his first event, then in October he triumphed at the Constellation Furyk & Friends tournament to earn his first victory on the senior circuit.

By year’s end, Gainey had locked up full eligibility for the PGA Tour Champions in 2026, making the Korn Ferry Tour much less attractive to the veteran. But it also meant his future wasn’t dependent on playing the Korn Ferry Tour.

So when the time came to commit to the Korn Ferry Tour’s season opener in the Bahamas, Gainey decided to sit it out.

Monday Q Info got wind of Gainey’s classy move and called him up to get the full explanation.

“It’s 10 times harder than when I came up. I didn’t want to take a spot from a guy,” Gainey told Monday Q Info.

Korn Ferry Tour events get a big boost when well-known players like Gainey tee it up, so Gainey worried that the tournament might take his decision the wrong way. So, as he told Monday Q Info, he called the tournament director and explained, “I don’t want to disrespect the event.”

He added, “These young guys are so good, any one of them can win, even the last guy in the field.”

Check out the full post below.

So when the 2026 Bahamas Golf Classic gets underway next Thursday, January 11, at Ocean Club Golf Course at Atlantis, Gainey won’t be there. And one young pro who wasn’t expecting to be there will get the chance of a lifetime.

As for Gainey, he’ll likely take a couple more weeks off to prepare for the PGA Tour Champions season-opening event, the 2026 Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai, which kicks off January 22 in Hawaii.