Michigander Tom Gillis Ends 31-Year PGA Tour Career at Warwick Hills
Stewart Cink Wins 2024 Ally Challenge
By Tom Lang
GRAND BLANC – Retirement can be very emotional for most people.
For touring pro Tom Gillis was more about being practical.
“I’ve been thinking about this the last year or so,” Gillis told me after the second round. “My status just hasn’t been as good, and I haven’t played as good. And my body doesn’t let me do as much as I used to do to prepare, and I’m not going to chase these Monday qualifiers around to try getting status.”
He admitted the emotions would come more from seeing his son off to school at Alma College to play basketball the same evening he made his last putt at Warwick Hills, the same course where Gillis began his PGA Tour career 31 years and 15 days before at the 1993 Buick Open.
“It will be more emotional than the golf being finished,” Gillis said. “I’m not so worried about that than I am letting our first one go (off to school).
“I have some plans in the works, but I’ll go fishing and it will just be nice to be home with the family; not always on the run and wondering next when we are going to the airport.”
Gillis played worldwide, including five years on the European Tour. His closet chance at victory on Tour in America was the 2015 John Deere Classic when he tied Jordan Speith, who went on to win the playoff in two holes.
This week, Gillis was one of seven players to finish T10 at 8-under par. It qualified him for another week on tour but he’s turning it down to go on a long-ago planned trip to Prince Edward Island to see friends. Starting his career at Warwick Hills and finishing here too is fitting for the long-time Lake Orion resident.
Regarding his favorite memories:
“You could say finishing with Jordan Spieth in a playoff and coming in second to Rory (2012 Honda Classic but tying Tiger Woods for second) – but getting my Card the first time, at PGA West was exhilarating,” Gillis told me. “But the memories I’ll have the most is relationships out here and spending time with the guys – on the Sunday nights when we’re flying, or sitting around a campfire or at someone’s house they rented, having beers and telling stories. I’ll really miss the guys.
“I never had a dream of playing the PGA Tour, I just wanted to be a club pro,” he added, due to the cool life he watched a local club pro have while working in his teen years. “I thought it was an honor and so cool to be here (on Tour). Zero regrets. Being a dad that’s home a lot will definitely be a positive and important thing for me.”
Stewart Cink Wins First PGA Tour Champions Title:
Cink’s fifth top-10 finish this season was the pinnacle – winning the Ally Challenge in the tournament’s 7th year, and his first time playing it. Cink’s 67-66-66 – 199 for three days tied the lowest total ever at the event and was three strokes better than runner up K.J. Choi and four strokes ahead of Mike Weir. Darren Clarke took 4th place at 206.
The victory made Cink the 22nd golfer to ever win on the Korn Ferry Tour, The PGA Tour and now the PGA Tour Champions.
“When I saw K.J.'s name up there tied with me, I knew it was, all right, it's time to like put the track shoes on because we'll have to go get this thing.” Cink said. “At that point another gear came out and I started hitting fairways and I was just like, I was piping the driver and hit a lot of pure irons and made some putts that I needed to. I didn't fill it up today with the putter, but I made the putts that I needed to and I birdied the holes that were birdiable out there. I was just really proud of myself the way I stayed in the moment and just did the best I could on every shot. Today the best I could do was pretty darn good, it was some of the best golf I've played in quite a while.
“I'm going to focus more time now on PGA TOUR Champions and shift on over,” he added about where to play going forward. “I'm not going to completely stop playing PGA TOUR events, but I feel like I have a home out here that … I need to come and stay in my home. I'm ready. I like it out here, it's fun and it's just a real blessing to be able to have this. To compete at over 50, it's awesome.”
