Golf

2024 PGA Tour: Maverick McNealy Goes From ‘Learner’ to Champion at the RSM Classic

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Nov 26, 2024 / 1303 Views

Evan Walker

Maverick McNealy arrived at the 2024 RSM Classic uncomfortable about what lay in wait at the Sea Island Golf Club. The turf that greeted him at the Seaside Course of this facility in Georgia hasn’t been a traditional ally, and McNealy was apprehensive of the possible fate on the Bermuda (grass type) greens.

Despite the unease and History of not playing well in past appearances, however, McNealy was ready to make the week count. His goal: Tto add fuel to his run on the PGA Tour in the coming New Year.

While a win was the farthest thing on his mind, McNealy teed off with the mindset of a learner, one who was keen to figure out his fault and improve in the conditions.

Maverick McNealy secures maiden PGA Tour win at RSM Classic

The 29-year-old did learn, and the giant strides through the week, starting with the round of 8-under 62 on Day 1, powered his maiden PGA Tour win in his 142nd start on Tour. The ability to adapt quickly was the immediate trigger, but McNealy was hurting as well, which prompted him to put in the hours at practice away from the public eye.

“It’s been seven… eight years since I won anything Golf-wise. I’ve had a couple of really close calls, things not going the right way at the right time,” said the champion, who came into the week on the back of six top 10s.

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The reference to the season and the inability to put together four rounds good enough for the coronation got McNealy thinking and implementing the to-do list with his team.

The way Sunday, November 24, started to unfold, McNealy was reminded of the past. It was a rather stark run after the two birdies on the front nine, and a mind taut with anticipation had to cope with a dropped shot on the 15th which threw open the field.

In a four-way tie for the lead, McNealy arrived on the 18th needing to swing it right and putt well under pressure. At that critical point, it was imperative he not let the surge of emotions get the better of him. McNealy’s caddie, Scout, did a remarkable job of keeping him grounded.

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“Playing professional Golf and trying to win late on Sunday is designed to make you as uncomfortable as you possibly can. Holes are challenging, the Golf course plays about as hard as it does all week in those conditions, you’re hitting Golf shots that potentially could change your life. That’s the amazing thing about this tour. You have the potential to change your life every given week,” said McNealy.

The clutch approach shot ensured the putt for birdie was not more than five feet, but it had to be made, nonetheless. After it was done, McNealy was at a loss for words.

Life changer

The one-shot win and the monetary and career benefits that accompanied the result will shake up the path of the Stanford University graduate in an unprecedented way. Understandably, the enormity of the occasion led McNealy’s mind to go blank.

As a family-oriented man, McNealy had experienced such a moment prior to his marriage to wife Maya, when he had watched her climb a hill. He experienced that same feeling on account of the troughs he had to negotiate in college, and again on the Korn Ferry Tour.

“When things aren’t going as well, kind of building everything back step by step [helps]. I feel like I’m way more experienced [now, and] a way better player. [I] feel like my golf game’s foundation is so much better now than it was [before],” said McNealy.

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Winning on the 72nd hole on Sunday was synonymous with how his career has taken shape: step by step. And now that he’s a winner in his fifth season on the PGA Tour, McNealy can pause and understand what has come his way once the mind puts into perspective the whirlwind sequence of events over the past four days.

The winner’s cheque of USD 1.368 million and 500 FedExCup Fall Points are the immediate gains, but the consequences of Sunday are far deeper and more impactful from a career perspective.

Besides a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour, McNealy has now secured invitations to the 2025 Sentry Tournament, Masters and PGA Championship, and will qualify for two Signature Events, the 2025 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and Genesis Invitational.

Drawing from Rafael Nadal

Inspired as he is by Rafael Nadal, McNealy was prepared for the long haul when he turned professional. Ten years or even 15 in the wait for that breakthrough win had been marked down, but McNealy was willing to persevere. However, he had promised himself that whenever the moment came calling, he would be ready to embrace it.

“Rafa said play every week like it could be your last. You never know what’s going to happen, you never know what your Game’s going to be. I had an opportunity to play on the PGA Tour this week, which is something that people would give anything for.”

Emotional week

Present tense, future uncertain; Joel Dahmen, Daniel Berger, and Henrik Norlander teed off at the RSM Classic in the endeavour to keep their playing rights intact for 2025.

Dahmen entered the week on the bubble ranked 124th (the top 125 keep their card for 2025) in the final event of the 2024 regular season, and the sport that is his first love kept him on tenterhooks through the week.

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Of note: Dahmen needed to make par on the final hole to make the cut on Friday, and he pulled off the challenge. On Sunday, a similar scenario required him to stand tall and maintain his spot in the ranking, and Dahmen did himself proud by showing up again in “two of his career’s biggest pressure moments”.

“Thankful for the opportunity… to have another full card out here is really special. This is my eighth year out here, and I probably made it longer than I ever thought I would. It makes you appreciate things a little more when times are tough. I hit thousands of Golf shots this year, missed a lot of cuts, had a lot of opportunities to do everything, so I didn’t have to come to this… I don’t want to go through this every again,” said Dahmen, a survivor of cancer.

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Berger, however, found himself on borrowed time, with the week being his last start on a tournament winner’s exemption. The last of his four wins on Tour came at the 2021 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, before an unfortunate injury derailed his career at his peak.

By tying for second on Sunday, Berger moved from 127th to 100 to ensure job security for 2025. For a man who missed out on the action for one-and half years and could not utilise his three-year winner’s exemption in its entirety, it felt like hitting rock bottom.

Amidst the furor, there was optimism that playing well might allay his descent into mediocrity. Berger hopes to have turned the corner, and it will be upwards from now on for a man who was top 20 on the OWGR for a long time.

“When you miss that amount of time, it takes a while to get back. I know people are like, ‘you know, why isn’t he playing good?’ It’s just a matter of being patient and eventually good things come around,” he said on his best finish since his win in 2021.

Norlander, too, stepped up when it was asked of him, and his T17 finish pushed him up from 126th to 120th.

He finished 126th last year, and to cross the line this time was a huge relief. The margin of error was minimal in the spot he found himself in, and was a reminder of what he endured at Q-School in 2012. Pushing forward, the 37-year-old Swede did what was required while coping with the scars from his past.

“I never felt this tight on a golf course before… but then you also have to hit golf shots and somewhat stay aggressive,” he said.