Gainey grabs first PGA win

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 at St. Simons Island, Ga.

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.

LPGA

Suzann Pettersen won the HanaBank Championship in Incheon, South Korea, 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.