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Tommy Gainey looks the part.

A billed lid sits atop his head with a sponsor’s logo prominently displayed.

His collared shirt reflects the same financial underwriter and his slacks and shoes allow him to blend and mingle in both the country club and touring pro sets.

But take a look at his hands and it will require a second glance, one for each glove.

Because Gainey wears not just the top hand glove, which is standard among players, but gloves his second hand as well.

Tommy Gainey is noted for wearing two golf gloves. Photo Getty Images

Word is, baseball came first for Gainey and once he migrated to golf, the two-glove habit was more than he could shake and it’s as much a part of his game as taking violent hacks with his driver.

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Golf’s offseason, the shortest in all of professional sports, is over.

Lasted about a month, give or take a week, and that’s relative to which events are deemed pertinent.

But since no one is playing for free, it’s fair to say golf breaks just long enough to trim a tree or light a candle or do whatever it is one does during the holidays.

With the Tournament of Champions on the horizon in Hawaii and 2011 tee times set for Thursday, whaddya say to a few look-ins to some dead-solid-perfect predictions for golf in the new year?

Well, they could happen …

Tiger will win.

Go ahead and groan, but did you really think anyone else can top this list? Here’s another question: Do you really think he won’t?

And this isn’t merely to say that Woods will win a tournament … at some point … eventually.

No, Tiger will win on the  PGA Tour in 2011 and more than once.

It’s hard to say if he’ll approach the six victories he posted in 2009, and likely he will not. But once he collects a check to end a drought that extends to the Australian Masters in November of  ‘09, that familiar feel will become addictive.

Tiger Woods will prevail in U.S. Open at Congressional. Photo Getty Images.

Woods’ schedule for the upcoming season remains unclear, but look for some usual suspects to get his season rolling.

The first will be San Diego at Torrey Pines, Jan. 27-30, where Tiger has won throughout his career and six times has kickstarted his season with a victory. Early favorites for a first-place finish also include the WGC Match Play, a month later, and Bay Hill, March 24-27.

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The golf season began and ended under the considerable canopy that is Tiger Woods.

But the question at the outset of the year was — will he play? — and concluded with — will he win again?

Woods answered the first query, when he teed it up at the Masters, but he will need at least one more golf season to tackle the second question.

The year of 2010 provided plenty of golf headlines. Here are the 10 that rose to the top, according to GolfLink’s esteemed panel.

1. Tiger Woods, On And Off The Course: It’s tough to knock Tiger from the top spot of any golf news category, but toss in some tabloid sizzle and it was virtually guaranteed that Woods’ name bubbled to the top.

His 2009 Thanksgiving weekend car accident unearthed sordid tales that Woods clearly wished would have remained firmly within the confines of his golf bag, but as the alleged mistresses began to queue up for their 15 minutes it was game over on many fronts.

Sponsors fled, Woods retreated to rehab and the golf world wondered and waited for his return. Ultimately that came at the Masters in April and despite an opening round 68 and eventual T-4 finish, he looked more like a talented rookie who couldn’t quite harness his game than a seasoned world champion.

Tiger Woods hits shot at 2010 U.S. Open, where he finished T-4. Photo copyright USGA/Mike Ehrmann

As the year progressed, Woods’ marriage to Elin Nordegren ended in divorce and his season ended without a victory. That was the first time as a professional that Woods did not cash the winner’s check at least once during the year.

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Golf’s silly season officially ended Sunday with the Shark Shootout in Florida.

There was nothing silly about the money, of course, as Ian Poulter and Dustin Johnson split the $750,000 winner’s share to slap one last sweet bit of tinsel to their holiday decorations. But there was nothing official to be gained with the victory other than the simple joy of winning.

The Shootout was once held on the opposite coast at Sherwood CC in California before taking up residence at Tiburon GC in Naples, Fla. about 10 years ago. Greg Norman was the host then and is again, but it’s the format that helps the tournament stand out from the year-end, pay-for-play events that have become routine.

Over three rounds of the Shootout, the two-man teams play modified alternate shot, better ball and a Sunday scramble that predictably produces low scores. Poulter and Johnson did not disappoint with a final-round 59 to win the tournament by two strokes over Graeme McDowell and Darren Clarke.

It’s the right idea for a December diversion.

Ian Poulter teamed with Dustin Johnson to win Shark Shootout. Photo Getty Images.

“They kind of pushed us around,” Poulter told the Associated Press of the heat provided by McDowell and Clarke. “You know what, making the birdies they did, it was kind of good for us to see good shot after good shot, and good putts going in. It’s a lot easier to hole putts when your playing partners do.”

McDowell and Clarke also shot 59 but could not close the gap.

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He would prefer the lettering to be different on the trophy, but Dustin Johnson will take it — victories on the PGA Tour don’t come easily.

It was just a short month ago, when Johnson took a swing he’ll likely never repeat. His ill-fated swipe in the sand at Whistling Straits turned a possible PGA Championship title into the penalty stroke heard ’round the world.

Coupled with his collapse at the U.S. Open in June and Johnson had more major tournament heartbreak than one career should endure: certainly one season.

So his victory Sunday carries the title sponsor of BMW and not PGA, but it was his second win this season, fourth of his career and notice served that he is among the game’s young stars.

“You know, after a few unfortunate situations I’ve had, you know, it definitely feels good and gives me a lot of confidence going into next week and the rest of the year,” Johnson told PGATour.com. “You know, it makes things a lot easier.”

His $1.35 million check will help to smooth out some rough spots as well, but seemingly easy is Johnson’s ability to put himself in contention. He successfully defended his title at Pebble Beach in February and was the 54-hole leader on the same golf course at the U.S. Open in June.

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Golf, like baseball, is more about failure than success.

The hitter who prevails 30 percent of the time is an all-star and the golfer who manages to shoot level par in a playoff is a major champion.

And both sports demand that one minimizes mistakes with emphasis not only on the what, but the when.

Martin Kaymer persevered when necessary Sunday and his reward was the PGA Championship and first career major title.

Dustin Johnson failed at the worst possible time.

His misstep was not one of execution, but awareness. Johnson’s talent didn’t fail him, his inability to process the moment did and with that his second chance at his first major victory evaporated.

Whistling Straits, site of 2010 PGA Championship. Photo by Dan Perry

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PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Tiger Woods doesn’t lead the U.S. Open, but he’s seized control.

Reached out, grabbed it, put his interlocking grip on it and issued a challenge and a dare to the rest of the field to deny him a fourth national championship.

For the record, Dustin Johnson is the leader and Graeme McDowell is three strokes back in second place of the 110th staging of the event and fifth here.

But that 66 that Woods put on the board was emphatic, it was loud and it was the last thing those looking to bid for the title wanted to see.

“I got myself back into the tournament,” Woods said.

Simple, clear and precise.

Woods took a page right out of Mickelson’s yardage book.

Tiger Woods watches shot at No. 2. Photo copyright USGA/Mike Ehrmann

Lefty shot a 66 in Friday’s second round to seize what then appeared to be the momentum of this tournament, but consecutive bogeys to start his round set a trend that lasted into the evening after his late afternoon tee time.

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PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Graeme McDowell is going to bed as the leader of the U.S. Open.

That’s where he’s going, but it doesn’t mean he’ll get much rest because there is a formidable mob gathering behind him.

For starters, there is Ernie Els who is rediscovering his game in time to reclaim his position as one of the sport’s best.

There is also Phil Mickelson, who is ready to punt into the Pacific Ocean that record of five runner-up finishes but no victories in the U.S. Open.

If that isn’t enough to make McDowell gag into the wee hours, some young talent has decided to join the hunt in the likes of Dustin Johnson and Ryo Ishikawa.

Johnson knows how to get around the Golf Links here; he’s the two-time defending AT&T champion. And Ishikawa, is an 18-year-old talent, who may just be young enough to not realize the pressure he’s supposed to feel.

Oh, Ishikawa also managed to shoot a round of 58 earlier this year to win a tournament in Japan.

Graeme McDowell putts at No. 8. Photo courtesy USGA/John Mummert

So, does McDowell think he’s got a shot? Absolutely.

“I’d be lying if I hadn’t thought about picking up the trophy on Sunday afternoon,” McDowell said. “I think that’s only natural.  But I’m trying to be very realistic about it, as well.”

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He is the axis around which a golf tournament spins, raised exponentially if it is a major.

And so it is with the U.S. Open that is set to begin Thursday at Pebble Beach Golf Links.

The player is Tiger Woods, of course, a lightning rod of opinion.

Over the last several months, Woods has also shifted from the player who once so thoroughly dominated the sport to one who currently finds himself in that unenviable position of trying to find his golf swing.

The storied track knows him well, too.

Pebble Beach hosts fifth U.S. Open

It was Pebble Beach that was laid open by Woods’ supreme talents in 2000, when he toured the four days of U.S. Open play in 12-under par — a figure that was no fewer than 15 shots ahead of the field.

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It’s always good when people take charge of their own affairs and golf is no exception.

And it wasn’t all that long ago when the what’s-wrong-with-Phil-Mickelson stories actually began to gain traction.

That was the beginning of the month.

Now look.

Mickelson is the reigning Masters champion — his fourth career major title — he’s firmly in the hunt for his second victory on the PGA Tour this season and he’s officially a hero.

Phil Mickelson in 2005. Photo by Reed

Time Magazine named Mickelson to the Heroes category on its list of the World’s Most Influential People, a grouping that also includes former President Bill Clinton. On Friday, Mickelson eagled the par-5 15th, his sixth hole of the day, and closed with a 68 to go six-under at the Quail Hollow Championship.

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