Tommy ‘Two Gloves’ Gainey takes Tiger Woods’ place this weekend

No Tiger this weekend. So golf fans will have to make do with “Two Gloves.”

Tiger Woods is skipping the Greenbrier Classic in West Virginia to rehab his sore elbow. Heading into Friday’s second round, Tommy “Two Gloves” Gainey stood among the leaders.

Gainey, the self-taught golfer and former factory worker who wears gloves on both hands, is something of a cult figure on the PGA Tour. He first rose to prominence on the Golf Channel television show “Big Break.”

After a solid 2012 that saw him collect his first PGA Tour win at the McGladrey Classic, Gainey has struggled this season, managing only one top 10 finish and making the cut at just nine of 22 tournaments.

A family intervention might have straightened things out this week.

“I was just putting so much pressure on myself and they noticed it and they had a talk with me and we sat down and tried to iron it out,” he said. “Now I’m just trying to have fun again because that’s what this game is to me, it’s a lot of fun.”

During the first round at the Greenbrier, Gainey played bogey-free golf to finish at eight under par, tied with Johnson Wagner for the lead.

Gainey and Wagner were scheduled to tee off past 12:30 p.m. EDT on Friday. In the meantime, early starter Steven Bowditch had recorded a string of birdies to grab a second-round lead at nine under.

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