With the LIV Golf roster for 2026 still taking shape, there will be plenty of interest in the players who withdraw from events on other tours in the early stages of the new season.
Certainly, the rumour mill will go into overdrive should Si-woo Kim, for example, remove himself from the field for the Sony Open in Hawaii later this month. The tournament at Waialae marks the start of the new PGA Tour season.
But one of the first withdrawals of the year has been taken place for a remarkable reason.
One-time PGA Tour winner withdraws from Korn Ferry Tour event with brilliant gesture
The 2026 Korn Ferry Tour season kicks off in the Bahamas, with many of the game’s brightest young players looking to make a strong start to a year they hope will end with a PGA Tour card being secured.
In 2020, the event was won by Tommy Gainey. It was his first victory on the Korn Ferry Tour in almost a decade.
Gainey has also won on the PGA Tour. Meanwhile, the 50-year-old won the Constellation Furyk and Friends title on PGA Tour Champions in October 2025.
He was set to be in the field on Paradise Island due to his past champions status. But as reported by the X account Monday Q Info, Gainey has withdrawn from the event so a younger player can take his place in the field.
Crucially, Gainey claimed that it is imperative that those on the way up get those starts, with so many changes made.
How the tournament director reacted to Tommy Gainey’s decision
To some, it may appear to be a small setback to the event itself. Gainey would have hoped to have spent longer on the PGA Tour at his peak, but he is still a recognisable name to many golf fans – mainly for the fact that he has worn two gloves throughout his career.
And the youngster who replaces Gainey will almost certainly have a much smaller profile.
However, it seems that the Korn Ferry Tour were extremely impressed by the veteran’s gesture.
As Monday Q Info reports, Gainey contacted the tournament director to let him know of his decision and to make sure that it was not perceived as a lack of respect for the event.
The tournament director acknowledged that few would have made the same decision as Gainey.
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