Pro selflessly surrenders the place in the opening of the season: ’10 times more difficult’

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

But he won’t play.

According to one report from Monday Q InfoGainey, now 50, decided to surrender his seat in the event to give a younger professional a chance to establish a career.

Here’s what you need to know.

Tommy Gainey’s unique path to golf stardom

Gainey became a household name in golf families long before he appeared on the PGA Tour. He first got his big break on the old Golf Channel show “Big Break” (which returns 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 the 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 60 to win the McGladrey Classic.

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

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

Gainey gives up spot on Korn Ferry Tour season opener

Next week, the 2026 season of the Korn Ferry Tour begins at the 2026 Bahamas Golf Classic at Atlantis Paradise Island. It is the beginning of a year-long search in which young pros will battle to graduate to the PGA Tour.

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

First, he turned 50, thus becoming eligible for the PGA Champions Tour. 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 triumphed in the Furyk & Friends Constellation tournament to earn his first win on the senior circuit.

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

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

Q Info Monday caught wind of Gainey’s style 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 said. Monday Q Information.

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

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

Check out the full post below.

So when the 2026 Bahamas Golf Classic gets underway next Thursday, Jan. 11, at Ocean Club Golf Course in Atlantis, Gainey won’t be there. And a young professional who didn’t expect to be there will have the opportunity of a lifetime.

As for Gainey, he will likely take a few more weeks off to prepare for the PGA Tour Champions season-opening event, the 2026 Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai, which begins Jan. 22 in Hawaii.