Tommy Gainey took a long, unusual path to professional golf

He wears a glove on both hands. His swing is violent and unorthodox. He speaks with a thick southern drawl. He has been on reality TV. And his journey to professional golf is among the strangest you will ever hear.

Add it all up and you get a picture of Tommy Gainey, a former PGA Tour winner who is hoping to recreate past success this week in the Air Capital Classic at Crestview Country Club.

His path here began shortly after he earned an industrial maintenance certificate from Central Carolina Technical College in the mid 1990s. Like anyone else in his position, the Bishopville, S.C. native found a blue-collar job, working in a factory. Five days a week, he wrapped insulation on water heaters for the water technology company A.O. Smith.

It was a good job, and he was glad to have to it, but it wasn’t easy work. So when a friend suggested he call in sick and play in a regional TearDrop Tour tournament, he figured why not? He was the best golfer on his high school team and it was time to try something different.

Long story short, he won the tournament and decided to quit his job. Then he fought for a living on the mini-tours and ultimately earned his PGA Tour card. He has won nearly $5.5 million in career earnings since.

“I used to work for A.O. Smith. Now I am sponsored by A.O. Smith,” Gainey said Wednesday, pointing to the company’s logo on his purple golf shirt, which also featured Callaway and Odyssey logos. “A lot of players can’t say that. I am very lucky and very humbled to be in this position.”

Gainey gets asked about his story seemingly everywhere he goes. Most of the time, the questions are about his 10-finger grip completely covered by golf gloves. Hey, he didn’t get the nickname “Two Gloves” for nothing.

“Take a look at my tan lines,” he said, revealing a pair of pale-skinned hands next to tan wrists. “It gets recognized all the time, and that is fine, because it comes with the territory.”

Other times the questions are about his swing, which can look as awkward as Jim Furyk’s. Some want to know which southern state he calls home when they hear his accent. Many recognize Gainey from his stints on the Golf Channel reality TV show “Big Break.”

The fact that he can bomb deep drives, hit accurate iron shots and score on the greens only makes the questions multiply.

Good thing he is happy to share his story.

“My father taught me how to swing this way,” Gainey said. “He introduced me to the game of golf and he wears two gloves. So I guess you could say he is the original. I just took two old gloves and started playing with them. I used to play baseball, too, and back then I was one of the few people that wore two gloves. It worked out. I can sit here today and say I wouldn’t change a thing.”

One thing he would change is his past finish in the Air Capital Classic. He has only played here once before, in 2010, and he got off to a good start. He made the cut and remembers making birdies his first three holes on Saturday to get in contention, but he soon had to withdraw due to an injured back.

He accidentally rammed an iron against a tree root and fell to his knees. On the next hole, he called it quits.

“I am looking forward to finishing the tournament this week,” Gainey said.

Gainey played in the tournament’s Pro-Am on Wednesday, impressing his playing partners with a lengthy drive that split the middle of the first fairway. He has hit enough quality shots this season to rank 41st on the Web.com money list, putting him in position to earn his way back onto the PGA Tour.

A strong finish this week will help his cause.

Winning is his goal, but he is also happy to simply be in Wichita with his family. As he learned, playing golf in front of his two sons sure beats working in a factory.

“I miss the friends I made working for A.O. Smith, but I do not miss the job,” Gainey said. “We had to put these little jackets on and it was hot in there, well over 100 degrees. I don’t miss that at all. I am just glad to be doing something I love. I love getting up every morning and going out to the golf course.”

This story was originally published June 24, 2015 at 5:06 PM with the headline "Tommy Gainey took a long, unusual path to professional golf."