The Bahamas Golf Classic at Atlantis Paradise Island will be without one of its former champions when the new Korn Ferry Tour campaign begins next week.
Before that, he had twice won on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2010 and scooped his only PGA Tour success at what is now called the RSM Classic in 2012. But, by the end of 2014, he had lost status on the Korn Ferry Tour and it took him six years to find the winner’s circle again.
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Despite being well within his rights to enjoy a one-off crack at the $1 million tournament next week, per Monday Q Info’s Ryan French, Gainey called up The Bahamas Golf Classic’s tournament director Josh Franklin and said he “didn’t want to disrespect the event” but would not be in attendance due to one clear reason in what was his final year of exemption as a past champion.
Franklin is reported to have thanked Gainey and said he was “not sure many would do what he was doing.”
Tommy Gainey was in the @BahamasKFTour next week as a past champion of the event. It’s his last year for his past champion exemption. A friend of his called me and said he WD, so a young guy could get a start. So I called him. Of course Tommy picked up. Said he loves the…January 3, 2026
After confirming his withdrawal from the 132-man field, Gainey explained exactly why he had WD to Monday Q Info’s French. ‘Two Gloves’ said he loves the event and wants to play but understands how hard it is to earn Korn Ferry Tour starts these days.
Gainey continued by sharing that with all the changes to the Korn Ferry Tour and PGA Tour, he felt it was much more important that someone coming up through the ranks benefited from the start.
He was also directly quoted as saying: “It’s 10 times harder than when I came up. I didn’t want to take a spot from a guy. These young guys are so good, any one of them can win, even the last guy in the field.”
The 50-year-old will still be playing this month, though, after earning full-time status on the PGA Tour Champions.
Since his third and final Korn Ferry Tour success in 2020, the Darlington, South Carolina-born pro struggled for form on the PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour before more recently rediscovering his game on the PGA Tour Champions.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Gainey finished T5th in his very first PGA Tour Champions event, the Rogers Charity Classic, days after his 50th birthday and Monday qualified for four of his first five starts on the over-50’s circuit.
It was in his fifth PGA Tour Champions appearance that Gainey’s career truly took off once more as he won the Constellation Furyk & Friends as a Monday qualifier.
As a result, ‘Two Gloves’ will make his first Champions Tour start as a full-time member on January 22 in the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai alongside the likes of Bernhard Langer, Ernie Els and Steven Alker.
