Tom Whitney incredibly goes from guarding Air Force nukes to PGA Tour contention

No other PGA Tour player has had the career history that Tom Whitney has.

Ten years ago, Whitney was in his fourth year in the U.S. Air Force, serving as a nuclear missile pilot at Francis E. Warren Air Force Base outside Cheyenne, Wyoming.

But what does the job of a nuclear missile operator mean?

“That meant that my crew partner and I were placed in a personnel silo that was directly wired and connected to a nuclear missile about 100 feet underground,” Whitney told The American Express on Tuesday. explained.

“Whatever happens to the missile is communicated to the missile crew, which I was a part of. That means if there is maintenance going on, there will be a security response. Tests, exercises, fires, earthquakes underground. If there's an impact or something like that, we have to respond. Basically, we have security and maintenance and everything else.”

Whitney, who shot a 6-under 66 in the first round of the American Express, talked afterwards about what he and his crew would have done if they had launched the missile.

If the president orders the launch of a nuclear weapon, the commander-in-chief will notify U.S. Strategic Command, which will hand over the mission to Whitney.

“Of those 150 missiles, [located across the three American nuclear missile bases]Me and my crew partner will be responsible for 10 of them,” Whitney explained.

“For example, you come to the base on Monday and do a couple of hours of mission planning. Talk about the threat or situation of relevant information. Then enter only anything else that could collectively impact future alerts.”

Whitney's shifts were 24 hours at a time. He was eating eight times a month.

“Then we drive to the site, which takes 45 minutes to two and a half hours from the base.” [in Cheyenne]” Whitney said.

“It's all spread out in Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska…The whole complex is about the size of Rhode Island. If you think about it, 150 missiles, 15 manning locations, and bases. , and everything is wired underground, which means all the engineering and planning to install these pressure sensitive cables and digging all the trenches to connect everything. It's a really cool weapon system. .”

Photo by: Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images

Whitney ended his playing career in May 2014, after which he decided to pursue a career in professional golf. He qualified for his PGA Tour Latin America in 2016, and the following year he Ferry competed in his Tour, playing in his 117th career.

He had his best year on the Korn Ferry Tour last season, finishing 21st in the final standings and earning his PGA Tour card. Korn His Ferry The top 30 players on his tour received cards for his 2024 PGA Tour season.

And he currently has a four-shot lead over Zach Johnson and Alex Nolen, who currently hold the 18-hole lead at American Express.

“I was actually really excited to start this rotation. The stadium can be biting, but it's pretty forgiving off the tee,” Whitney explained after Thursday's round.

“I’m going to La Quinta. [Friday] After you've eased your nerves through the first 18 holes, play a slightly tighter golf course. However, it is also a very easy course. Next, we'll finish Niklaus, which is probably the easiest. Well, overall I'm very happy, one bogey, seven birdies, I'll take it. ”

Whitney, who made some great putts Thursday, will tee off Friday at 12:36 p.m. ET.

We'll probably see more Air Force logos throughout the weekend. He saw some on Thursday. Either way, there's no doubt that Airmen around the world will be cheering him on, not just this week, but throughout his PGA Tour career.

Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation's Playing Through.Be sure to check it out @_PlayingThrough Cover more golf. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko In the same way.