PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Tom Gillis is taking advantage of his advantage this week.
The 43-year-old journeyman pro, who has wedged himself in the thick of Honda Classic contention with young titans Rory McIlroy and Keegan Bradley, lives nine months of the year in Jupiter. This is a home game for the late-bloomer from Michigan looking for his first PGA Tour title.
“I’m your prototypical journeyman,” Gillis said. “I’ve been doing it almost 22 years now, played all over the world, 26 countries, played the European Tour, Asia, South Africa. I would say, yeah, I’m a late bloomer. But that’s the great thing about this game is you keep yourself somewhat in condition, you can go quite awhile.”
Gillis used to play some Gateway Tour events at PGA National. He likes the Champion Course.
“I think just the surfaces, the Bermuda, it’s real similar to the course I play right up the road called The Bear’s Club,” Gillis said. “It’s getting back and trusting that grain and all that, and the wind. We played in a lot of wind last week. That really helps out.”