Taking Flight

An underground bunker filled with nuclear missiles and storing the codes to launch them is not where you would expect to find a future PGA Tour member. But that is where Tom Whitney was a little more than nine years ago. The journey of the U.S. Air Force veteran and father of four to the PGA Tour has been fueled by the unwavering support of his family. It will culminate with a celebration on Sunday night but will be missing one of Whitney's biggest fans. 

Behind every player who realizes his dream of playing on the PGA Tour is an army (maybe, in this case, an air force) that has sacrificed and helped him get there. I wonder if there is a better example of that than the story of Tom and Jess Whitney. I have been lucky enough to spend time inside the Whitney home. I have seen the color-coordinated spreadsheet that helps them keep some semblance of order in their lives. Skyler, 10, plays baseball and takes tennis lessons. Zoey, 8, is in competitive gymnastics, which requires 10 hours of practice a week. Owen, 5, has started soccer. Bobbie is in preschool two days a week. Add in Bible study two days a week, with one parent on the road more than half the year, and you understand why the family needs a spreadsheet. 

Tom turned pro 13 years ago and started playing full-time in 2014 after he had fulfilled his military obligation. Jess has always been the rock in the family. They were married in 2010, three days after both graduated from the Air Force Academy. In 2013, their first child was born. Jess served full-time on active duty from 2010 until ’17, just before the birth of the couple’s fourth child. She is still active in the reserves and works one weekend a month. All those years, as the family grew, Tom was on the road half the year. It made for some tough times. 

Jess told me there were too many of those to list, but when Tom lost his Korn Ferry card at the end of 2018 after gaining it through the Latin American Tour in 2016, it was particularly tough. With Tom on the road so much and Jess at home with four kids, the thought of returning to the mini-tour grind made for some tough conversations. As they always do, the Whitneys leaned on their faith to guide them, and they ultimately decided to keep going. 

After missing the first stage of Q school that year, Tom went back to the Latin American Tour, finished second and regained his Korn Ferry card for 2020. Last year, Tom had a solid season on the Korn Ferry Tour, but he missed the cut at each of the three Korn Ferry Finals events and faced another year on the same Tour. "The Tour has been great, and the money is improving,” Tom says, “but if the KFT was going to be my peak, it wasn't worth it to be away from my family." 

It would require another year of coordinated effort from Jess’s and Tom’s parents along with friends. The compromise was that Tom would try his best to avoid being on the road for more than three weeks at a time. And the couple made a massive investment: a launch monitor that Tom credits with his improved wedge play and success this season.

This season began with a runner-up and a third-place finish in the first five events. Despite missing nine cuts in 22 events, Whitney took advantage of the weekends he did play. After piling up six top 10s, he is 17th in points heading into this week's Tour Championship. The top 30 earn their cards. And although the Tour hasn't announced he is Tour bound, he will receive his PGA Tour card on Sunday at the conclusion of play. 

A large group of extended family will be in Newburgh, Ind., to witness it all. Jess and the four kids are making the 15-hour drive from their home in Dallas. The couple’s parents will all be there, along with sponsors and family friends. 

On Sunday night, the group plans to gather at the home of one of Tom's sponsors. A catered meal will await. Wine will be sipped, memories will be shared, and laughs will be plentiful. It will be a much-deserved celebration for a group of people who all helped make this moment happen. 

There will also be tears shed for Bob Whitney, Tom's brother, who died in a suicide in 2020. Bob was, in Tom's words, "my biggest fan and my best friend." Bob was 2½ years older than Tom, and the two enjoyed golf as a shared passion. They played together on their high school team before Bob graduated and chose to play golf for the Air Force Academy. 

"He was the main reason I chose the Air Force," Tom says. The pair played together for two years at Air Force before Bob graduated and moved on to his service as an intelligence officer. After Tom turned pro, Bob would caddie when his schedule allowed. The pair talked almost daily by phone. 

Bob struggled with depression, which began in 2019. A decorated airman, Bob was a devoted father and husband and Tom's biggest fan. The void at the Sunday celebration will be immense, but the Whitneys always try their best to remember the good times. "I was lucky to have a brother who pulled for me so hard,” Tom says. “I choose to remember how lucky I was for the good times." Since Bob's death, Tom has marked his ball on the green with his brother's dog tags from the Air Force. 

Things won't change much in 2024; the kids will still have their activities, and the grandparents and friends will still be leaned on to pitch in. Jess says she and Tom are excited to be able to help their church more and happy they may be able to reach their financial goals sooner. However, she is quick to point out that she doesn’t want the routine to change. 

In January, Jess will make the trip to Hawaii with Tom for his first start as a PGA Tour member. Her parents will probably stay back in Texas and help with the kids. On the first green, Tom will mark his ball with his brother's dog tags, which will remind him that Bob is there, too.

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