ST. SIMONS ISLAND, GA. (AP) - Tommy Gainey narrowly missed golf’s magic number. He happily settled for a course-record 60 at Sea Island, and his first PGA Tour win 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.
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.
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.
Furyk shot a 69 to finish alone in third, a sour end to a season filled with bitter memories.
Gainey finished at 16-under 264 and earned $720,000, along with a trip to Kapalua in January for the Tournament of Champions and a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour.
Gainey went birdie-birdie-eagle-birdie in the middle of the back nine to soar into the lead and bring 59 into the picture, a score only five players have managed in PGA Tour history. He had a 20-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole that didn’t have enough speed to hold its line.
Love lost his hope on the back nine with a three-putt bogey on the 14th, a bunker shot that banged off the pin and spun out of the cup for a potential eagle on the 15th, and then his tee shot on the 16th that was left all the way and found water. He shot a 71 and tied for fourth.
HANABANK CHAMPIONSHIP
INCHEON, South Korea (AP) _ Suzann Pettersen won the HanaBank Championship for her ninth LPGA Tour title, beating Catriona Matthew with a 5-foot birdie putt on the third hole of playoff after blowing a big lead.
Seven strokes ahead of Matthew at the start of the round, Pettersen shot a 2-over 74 to finish at 11-under 205 on Sky 72 Golf Club’s Ocean Course. The 43-year-old Matthew finished with a 67.
Pettersen, the Norwegian who also won the 2007 event, took a five-stroke lead over South Korea’s So Yeon Ryu into the final round after opening with a course-record 63 and shooting a 68 on Saturday.
Matthew, from Scotland, had a two-stroke lead after Pettersen’s double bogey on the par-3 12th. Pettersen birdied the par-4 14th and Matthew dropped a stroke on the par-4 16th to leave them tied at 11 under.
Defending champion Yani Tseng was third at 10 under after a 69.
PERTH INTERNATIONAL
PERTH, Australia (AP) _ Bo Van Pelt won the Perth International, closing with a 4-under 68 for a two-stroke victory over American countryman Jason Dufner.
Van Pelt finished at 16-under 272 at Lake Karrinyup and earned $333,330 in the event sanctioned by the European and Australasian tours. Dufner, a two-time winner this year on the PGA Tour, shot a 69.
Spain’s Alejandro Canizares was third at 11 under after a 68.
JACKSONVILLE OPEN
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) _ Russell Henley won the Jacksonville Open for his second Web.com Tour victory of the year, beating B.J. Staten with a par on the first hole of a playoff.
Henley birdied the final hole of regulation for a 5-under 65 to match Staten at 10-under 270 on Dye’s Valley Course at TPC Sawgrass. Staten finished with a 68, then had a double bogey on the playoff hole.
Henley earned $108,000 to jump from ninth to third on the money list with $365,366. The tournament was the final full-field event of the year. The top 60 on the money list qualified for the season-ending Web.com Tour Championship next week in McKinney, Texas. The final top 25 will earn 2013 PGA Tour cards.
Henley also won the Chiquita Classic last month in a playoff in North Carolina. Last year while still a student at Georgia, Henley won the tour’s Stadion Classic on his college course.
Staten earned a spot in the finale, making $64,800 to go from 69th to 32nd on the money list with $141,521.
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