WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. — Johnson Wagner tried a new look and Tommy Gainey tried a new driver.
Both were giddy with the results: Dueling 8-under rounds of 62 that led the pack on opening day at The Greenbrier Classic.
“I always look at the leaderboard—it’s nice to see your name first. I feel good about my game and half this game is confidence.” — Greenbrier co-leader Tommy Gainey
Some 66 players were under par Thursday as intermittent morning showers softened the Old White TPC course and helped scoring. No one capitalized as much as Wagner and Gainey, ranked 180th and 181st in the world respectively.
“Well, I’ve always loved Old White,” said Wagner, who shaved off a 70s-style mustache that would have made Burt Reynolds proud. “We would come over here maybe two or three times when I was in school (at Virginia Tech).
“I’m a really big fan of Seth Raynor- and CV MacDonald-designed golf courses, and this is just my kind of paradise. I really enjoy playing classically designed golf courses.”
Wagner’s biggest shot of the day came from the right rough on No. 12, where he holed a chip from 28 yards out. He also was long and accurate off the tee box, harnessing the drives that had betrayed him earlier this season.
With momentum flowing, Wagner allowed himself to fantasize about the PGA Tour-record 59 — something achieved only five times since 1916, including Stuart Appleby’s closing round at the 2010 Greenbrier. But alas, he settled for pars on the final six holes, a smooth finish for the guy with the smooth face.
“(The mustache) will definitely come back at some point—I love irritating my wife too much with it to let it go for too long,” he said. “We just celebrated our seventh anniversary on Monday and I didn’t get her a gift, so I thought surprising her with a clean lip would suffice.”
Gainey’s day was equally inspiring, thanks in large part to a new Callaway Optiforce he used for 92-percent driving accuracy—quite a leap from his season average of 56 percent.
“I missed one fairway today with this new driver, and that says a lot,” said the 37-year-old South Carolinian. “Because if I can hit fairways, I can score.
“The ball sets up the rest of your game. If you don’t hit it in the fairway, you’re just trying to knock it on th green and make par because hitting it out of the rough is no fun. Trust me, I’ve been doing it for the last three years.”
Since placing sixth at the Hyundai, Gainey has only one top-25 finish while missing 13 of 21 cuts. He certainly seems safe to reach the weekend at the Greenbrier, though his expectations were touching upon a bigger prize after making six birdies in a bogey-free round.
He buried a 32-foot putt on the first hole and hit his approach 200 yards to within 14 feet on No. 2. His next birdie came on the par-3 eighth hole, beginning a string of four straight.
“It’s early and there’s still three days left, but I tell you what—I like my chances,” said Gainey, who previously toiled as a factory worker for a water heater manufacturer that now sponsors him.
“I always look at the leaderboard—it’s nice to see your name first,” he said. “I feel good about my game and half this game is confidence.”
Two shots back of the leaders were Webb Simpson and Jin Park, with four others tied at 5-under 65.