By JAMES McMAHON
jmcmahon@golfersguide.com
The Verizon Heritage enjoys a list of winners that any tournament would covet, but the storied PGA Tour event also has made champions of previously unknown players seeking their own career-defining moment and life-altering accomplishment.
The former Florida Gator won last year's Mayakoba Classic in Mexico, a tournament held opposite the Accenture Match Play World Championship with a field that might better resemble a Nationwide Tour event than that of the PGA Tour. With all due respect to that victory and the tournament, winning there is somewhat akin to taking your sister to the prom -- sure you're at the party, but everyone else there knows you're with your sister. This victory, however, makes Gay the king of the prom, and for yet another time, the Heritage has turned a pauper player into absolute royalty.
"It's never as easy at it looks," Gay said following his Heritage-record 10-shot win over Luke Donald and Briny Baird. "(It's) just a little validation, coming back this year and winning again."
Since 1999, five players have validated their own careers at Harbour Town by claiming their first PGA Tour win. Of those, only Aaron Baddeley was a player of any note before the win, and that recognition had more to do with style than substance. The other first-timers -- Glen Day, Jose Coceres, Peter Lonard and 2007 and 2008 champion Boo Weekley -- needed ID just to make it to the first tee on Thursday before slipping on a tartan jacket Sunday as the toast of the tour.
Prior to this week, Gay carried those same sort of "who the heck is that" credentials as he flew into Hilton Head largely underneath the radar. His Mayakoba victory came the same week Tiger Woods claimed the match play title and received about as much attention as an LPGA event. Yet with four near-perfect rounds of golf this week that resulted in just the ninth double-digit margin of victory on the PGA Tour since 1970, Gay is the latest player the Heritage has launched onto the national scene.
Oh, and unlike the Mayakoba victory, this win puts the one-time Georgia resident into the Masters for the first time, a fact not lost on Gay following his victory.
"I thought about it (Saturday) night," Gay said of his automatic ticket to Augusta. "We talked about it a little bit, but it is what it is. I've had a lot of heartache not getting into that tournament. What's going to happen is going to happen; just go play golf."
If history is any indication, Gay has much more than just an invite to the Masters to look forward to. Davis Love III claimed his first career victory right here at Harbour Town 22 years ago and since has won 19 more times on the PGA Tour, a career that includes four more Heritage titles and a PGA Championship to its credit.
Weekley, who is one of only three players to win back-to-back Heritage titles along with Love and Payne Stewart, has earned more than $4 million since winning here in 2007 and was a vital part of the victorious U.S. Ryder Cup team last fall. To date, the Heritage is still the only tournament Boo has won, but the charismatic golfer is among the most followed and cheered players on tour.
What Gay does with this record-setting victory remains to be written, but if the talented golfer can summon the same skill he flashed around Harbour Town this weekend, the sky most certainly is the limit. Like it has for others before him, victory here is likely just the type of confidence boost Gay needs.
"A lot of it is trust and believing in yourself," Gay said. "It's a lot of mental, a lot of experience, learning golf courses. I think I'm a different player than way back."
One thing's for sure, Gay is now a part of the Verizon fraternity of champions, and that alone carries some significant cache with folks around these parts who have a reputation for supporting their past champions no matter their resumes or career accomplishments. Following the likes of Weekley, Love and Baddeley won't be easy, but for Gay, who took home more than $1 million this week, it's a nice problem to have.
"I'll be happy to do whatever they need me to do," Gay said of being the defending champion. "I look forward to coming back here."
The next time he does, Gay will be a little more recognizable around Harbour Town. Isn't it funny how the Heritage has a knack for making that happen?
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