The PGA Tour returns to the continental United States this week after two weeks abroad. The tour was in Malaysia for the CIMB Classic and last week visited Shanghai, China for the WGC-HSBC Championship.
Davis Love makes his home on Sea Island off the coast of Georgia and annually plays host for the McGladrey Classic. This is the fourth year the tournament has been held and former winners include, Heath Slocum, Ben Crane and 2012 winner Tommy “Two Gloves” Gainey.
Gainey will defend this week, but has not had a stellar year on the PGA Tour. He missed 14 cuts in 28 starts in 2013 and only earned $520,000. He finished No. 140 in the FedEx Cup standings, and has fallen to No. 246 in the world rankings.
His poor play continued with missed cuts at the Frys.com and the Shriners Hospital for Children Open last month. Maybe a return to a golf course that holds positive memories is just what Gainey needs to get his game turned around.
He started the final round of the 2012 McGladrey Classic seven shots behind the leader and finished two hours before the leaders walked up the 18th hole. His record setting 10-under par 60 got him to 16-under par for the tournament and earned a one-stroke victory over David Toms.
The top-ranked players in the field this week include, Zach Johnson, Matt Kuchar, and Webb Simpson.
Johnson has played in all three previous McGladrey Classics and his best finish here was T-12 in 2010.
Kuchar will be making his 2014 PGA Tour season debut. He won two titles in 2013 on the PGA Tour and at No. 8 on the Official World Golf Ranking is the highest ranked player in the field this week.
Simpson was winless in 2013, but has already added a win for 2014 at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas last month.
Darren Clarke will also be making his 2014 PGA Tour season debut. He has not played a full schedule on the PGA Tour for several years and his last win came at the 2011 Open Championship.
The McGladrey Classic has a total purse of $5.5 million with $990,000 going to the winner.
All four rounds can be viewed this week Thursday-Sunday, 1:00-4:00 PM ET, on the Golf Channel.