Tom Whitney hits a tee shot in a practice round ahead of the 2024 Sony Open in Hawaii. | Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images
Tom Whitney has taken a unique path to the PGA Tour, as he served in the Air Force before turning professional.
No other PGA Tour player has the resume that Tom Whitney has.
Ten years ago, Whitney was in his fourth year of service with the United States Air Force, serving as a nuclear missile operator at Francis E. Warren Air Force Base outside Cheyenne, Wyoming.
But what does the job of a nuclear missile operator entail?
“That means me and a crew partner were positioned about a hundred feet underground in a personnel silo directly wired and attached to our nuclear missiles,” Whitney explained Tuesday ahead of The American Express.
“Anything that happens to the missile goes through the missile crew, which I was a part of. So, if maintenance is happening, a security response is happening, if a test, exercise, fire, underground shocks from an earthquake, whatever, we have to respond to, basically, we’re the go-between, between security, maintenance, and everything else.”
Whitney, who carded a 6-under 66 during the first round of The American Express, then discussed how he and his crew would have been the ones to launch a missile.
Ron Buskirk/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Missiles stand near the Francis E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
If the President sent an order to fire a nuclear weapon, the Commander-in-Chief would inform the U.S. Strategic Command, who would then pass down the assignment to Whitney for him to launch.
“Of those 150 missiles [located across the three American nuclear missile bases], myself and my crew partner would be in charge of 10 of them,” Whitney explained.
“You would show up to the base, let’s say on a Monday, and mission plan for two to three hours. We talk about expected weather, expected maintenance, maintenance that happens over the last 24-hour period, and any intelligence or relevant intelligence threats or situations. Then just anything else that can overall affect your upcoming alert.”
Whitney’s shifts were 24 hours at a time. He had eight per month.
“Then you drive out to the site, which can be anywhere from 45 minutes to two and a half hours from the base [in Cheyenne],” Whitney said.
“Everything’s spread out among Wyoming, Colorado, and Nebraska… The entire complex is about the size of Rhode Island. If you think about it, there are 150 missiles, 15 personnel sites, and the base, and everything is hard-wired underground. So, just the engineering and planning that went into it to install these pressure-sensitive cables, and trenching all that to connect everything. It’s a really cool weapons system.”
Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images
Tom Whitney plays a shot from the bunker on the first hole during The 2024 American Express.
Whitney finished his active duty in May 2014 and then decided to pursue a career in professional golf. He qualified for the PGA Tour Latinoamérica in 2016, and the following year, he made the Korn Ferry Tour, where he made 117 career starts.
He had his best year on the Korn Ferry Tour last season, finishing 21st in the final standings to secure his PGA Tour card. The top 30 players on the Korn Ferry Tour received cards for the 2024 PGA Tour season.
And now he is four behind Zach Johnson and Alex Noren, who currently hold the 18-hole lead at The American Express.
“I was actually really excited to start with this rotation. Although Stadium can bite you, it’s pretty generous off the tee,” Whitney explained after his round Thursday.
“I go into La Quinta [Friday] after getting the nerves out of the first 18 holes, play a little tighter golf course, but it’s also very gettable. Then, I’ll get to finish on Nicklaus, which is probably the easiest. So, yeah, all in all, very happy, one bogey, seven birdies, I’ll take it.”
Whitney, who putted beautifully on Thursday, tees off at 12:36 p.m. ET on Friday.
Perhaps he will see more Air Force logos throughout the weekend. He saw a few on Thursday. Regardless, airmen everywhere will undoubtedly be pulling for him not only this week but throughout his PGA Tour career.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
