Harbour Master

Sailing to a 10-shot victory over a tight, testing course, Brian Gay wins the Verizon Heritage for his second career win

Brian Gay winner of the Verizon Heritage Open

Cruise Control: Gay entered the final round at Harbour Town with a three-stroke lead then drove off with the top prize thanks to a closing 64.

By Bob Verdi

Photos by Charles Laberge

April 27, 2009

Brian Gay performed some serious magic last week at the Harbour Town GL, but wife Kimberly finished a close second, which is a lot closer than any golfer finished. He ran over the field as if it were standing still to win the Verizon Heritage by -- this is not a typographical error -- 10 swings. He could have played the last hole with a putter, taken a 13, and still won. Or he could have continued on to Nos. 1 and 2 and with two pars, still won. Instead, he authored an airtight final-round 64 for a 20-under 264, breaking a tournament record on a classic course with a rich pedigree and a degree of difficulty his scorecard belies.

Then, as Brian Gay was about to slip on the tartan jacket, his jaw dropped. "I thought to myself, 'Where did all these people come from?' '' he said later. They came from all over, some from around the Gays' residence near Orlando, many from elsewhere throughout Florida, both sides of the family, courtesy of Kimberly's exemplary organizational skills. On Saturday night she was texting madly. "I didn't make much of it, because Kimberly's always on that Crackberry," Brian said.

Early Sunday she announced she was leaving their rented house to take their two young daughters to day care. And she lied. "I had 35 passes left at will call, and I wanted to make sure everything was OK," said Kimberly. "Everybody showed up, and all I told them was not to be around the first tee, then hang back in the crowds so Brian wouldn't see you. I swore our children to secrecy. All of these people, we haven't been together since Brian and I got married 11 years ago. And look what happened."

Look what happened, indeed. When Gay registered his first PGA Tour victory after 293 starts -- the 2008 Mayakoba Classic -- he said he felt uncomfortable even with a lead of five after 54 holes. So with a cushion of three on Heritage Sunday, he continued to regard thin fairways framed by pines and straw culminating in tiny greens as mere tourist traps. Also, Gay did not notice his family tree because he wears shades, keeps his head down and tends to eschew eye contact. After a bogey at No. 12, just his second of the week, he collected three more birdies to eclipse Loren Roberts' low of 19 under at this low-country gem in 1996.

Gay's symposium was another reminder that golf genius is plentiful in this league, even with Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson absent. Luke Donald had a 65-66 weekend, yet gained no ground, only a share of second-place money with Briny Baird and his belly putter. "Angel Cabrera won the Masters using one," said Baird. "I thought, 'Maybe I'll give it a try.'

" Lee Janzen and Todd Hamilton tied for fourth while Davis Love III, a five-time Heritage champion who has taken more money out of South Carolina than Strom Thurmond, retreated Sunday with 74.

New Zealand's Tim Wilkinson began the fourth round on a mission, having found 13 of 14 fairways on each the first three days. Then Gay canned an 11-footer on No. 1 for birdie and a 58-footer on No. 2 for eagle. At least Wilkinson had a front-row seat to witness the tour's largest rout since Phil Mickelson's 13-stroke TKO at the 2006 BellSouth Classic.

"A little bit of relief and a little bit of validation," admitted Gay, who heard the usual stuff after his breakthrough in Mexico -- it was an opposite-field event, the big guys weren't there, no Masters invitation attached, and so yawn. But you don't do what he did at Harbour Town without game or a game plan. Gay is relatively short off the tee. Caddie Kip Henley (triumphant in Golf Channel's "Big Break II" reality show) "hits it 15 or 20 yards by me, which isn't saying much," said Gay. But Gay shaped his shots on a layout that demands thought, putted splendidly and remained composed atop the board. His first bogey occurred on No. 10 Friday, the same day he birdied five straight in rough conditions for a 66 to seize a lead that he padded instead of nursed. That's how thoroughbreds operate, even if it means resisting the temptation to fire at flags once in a while. "And he's so tight, he only used one ball today," quipped Henley after Sunday's tour de force.

Gay grew up about an hour from Augusta National and has attended a few Masters. "But I promised myself I would not play the course until I was in the tournament," he said. Gay is in now. "He missed twice in his career by one spot," mentioned Kimberly, surveying possible party scenarios after the award ceremony.

Brent Henley, Kip's brother, had joined the entourage after passing on a private flight to New Orleans with his golfer, Woody Austin. Kimberly also searched out the parents of Bailey Pritchard, 11, who was the standard bearer for Gay's group the three last rounds.

"Superstitious," she said. "We asked for him. I don't think that boy will be going to school tomorrow." The place where the Gays stayed is owned by a woman "somewhere in Illinois," Kimberly went on. "She wanted to do something because she thought Brian would win. So she had a case of Bud Light delivered to the house. What can I say?" Brian concurred. He worries about golf, and lets the wife take care of other things. She does that well.