Maverick McNealy also achieved a first at a tournament in which he achieved his 100th career cut on the PGA Tour. McNealy emerged from a crowded leaderboard with a birdie on the 72nd hole of the 2024 RSM Classic, reaching 16 under and winning his first PGA Tour event over Nico Echavarria, Daniel Berger and amateur Luke Clanton.
McNealy started the season finale well inside the Aon Next 10 – Nos. 51-60 in the FedEx Cup standings, which qualifies for the first two signature events of 2025 – and had a different goal in mind: his new year in Kapalua to begin at The Sentry. With his first foray into the winner's circle, he'll do just that.
Not only will McNealy make that start in 2025, he also qualified to compete in the Masters for the first time in his career. The 29-year-old also secured his spot in the 2025 PGA Championship and on the PGA Tour through the 2026 season.
“I’m shaking right now,” McNealy said after his game-winning birdie. “I feel like I could run a marathon – completely exhausted, but the adrenaline is incredible. My family is here, my whole team is watching. I’m just so happy I got one for her.”
Holding a share of the lead heading into the final round alongside Vincent Whaley, McNealy made light work of the front nine, adding two birdies along the way to take a two-shot lead into the turn. A nice par save on No. 11 seemed to have calmed his nerves as he looked for a first win in his 142nd attempt, but the wheels started to wobble on the final stretch.
A missed shot on No. 14 caused McNealy's lead to disappear as he drew level with Berger, his playing partner, as well as Clanton and Echavarria. His share of the lead soon turned into a deficit as Echavarria rolled in a birdie on the par-5 15th and Clanton followed up with a birdie of his own on the par-4 16th.
Meanwhile, McNealy made a mistake when he failed to birdie the only par 5 on the back nine. Instead, he needed three putts from 60 feet after finding the surface in two shots. He remained one shot behind until both Clanton and Echavarria were unable to maintain par on the final hole after missing the green in the middle of the fairway.
Amidst the crush at the top of the leaderboard and one hole left to play, McNealy made his mark on the final hole. He made the game-winning birdie with a 6-iron from 186 yards to 6 feet for his long-awaited first career victory on the PGA Tour. Grade: A+
Here are the scores of the remaining personalities on the RSM Classic 2024 leaderboard
T2. Daniel Berger (-15): As Berger began the week outside the top 125, he found himself in a position to secure his playing rights not only for 2025, but also for 2026 if he had entered the winner's circle. Trailing by two at the turn, the four-time PGA Tour winner grabbed a share of the lead thanks to a 55-foot birdie on No. 11 and a bogey from McNealy a few holes later. His ball striking created realistic birdie opportunities from 4 feet, 8 feet, 16 feet and 20 feet on numbers 15-18; However, no one fell and Berger ended his run just one shot shy of the playoffs. Grade: A+
T2. Luke Clanton (-15): Clanton, an amateur in name only, competed again. After spotting a flurry of birdies at the turn, the Florida State product moved up the leaderboard and took a share of the lead when his 15-foot birdie on the par-4 16th tied the trophy reached. Clanton was unable to get up and down from the greenside bunker on the final hole and narrowly managed to become the second amateur to win on the PGA Tour this season. He now has four top-10 finishes in eight career starts, including two podium finishes.
“It was another good week. It's hard, man. It’s definitely a tough loss,” Clanton said. “I think God gave me a great talent and just being out here in general, just being back in the race is great. It will definitely be a difficult task to endure after the last time I did a bogey, but I think it proved to me that I can win here, so I'll train for it.” Grade: A+
T17. Ludvig Åberg (-10): There was a lot of good and a lot of bad in Åberg's first start since his knee surgery. The reigning champion lost by 5 over par in his first round and battled back to make the cut and move into the top 20 by the end of the week. He was stuck in neutral on Moving Day, but more than made up for it by finishing with a 64 that saw Åberg show off his trademark prowess from tee to green. Grade: B+
T35. Joel Dahmen (-7): Facing a 5-foot putt with his professional life on the line Friday night, Dahmen used it to sneak into the weekend. After a mundane day of moving, the former PGA Tour winner needed a Sunday to remember in hopes of retaining his full-time status. A hole-out eagle on the par-4 13th kicked off his round as he tacked on three more birdies before making the turn. From there, Dahmen made just one more birdie, but he kept the spots off the scorecard, signing a 64 and securing full-time status for 2025.
“This is different. It makes you appreciate things a little more in difficult times,” said Dahmen. “I thought a lot about everything. It came down to the last putt of the week. “I've 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.” I was grateful for the opportunity today, but I never want to go through that again. Grade: B
MC. Wesley Bryan: Bryan, the Bubble Boy of the Week, got his tournament off to a good start as he opened a round with a 2-under 70 on the Plantation Course. He seemed well on his way to making the cut and securing his PGA Tour card until disaster – in the form of a double bogey – struck on the Seaside Course's par-4 14th. Bryan needed to play his final four holes in 1 under to see out the weekend and give himself a chance to maintain his position in the top 125. Bryan traded a birdie for a bogey and ended up on the wrong side of both cut lines. Grade: F
