Maverick McNealy is the new name on the lips of golf fans around the world after his fine performance at the Genesis almost saw him win out.
McNealy produced a quite stunning round of golf on Sunday and fired in six birdies in nine holes to race to the top of the leaderboard, where he stayed all day until Ludvig Aberg reeled him in with one to play.
For the American audience, seeing McNealy come to the table was a welcome sight given the dominance of Europeans and other players from around the world this season. Indeed, Harris English remains the only American to win on the TOUR in seven events in 2025.
McNealy, of course, didn’t get the win in the end but he did strike up a good playing partnership with Justin Thomas.
Thomas himself played well to get up into the top ten and after competing with each other, McNealy has now dropped a hint over this year’s Ryder Cup.
Maverick McNealy wants Justin Thomas team up for the Ryder Cup
Both Maverick McNealy and Justin Thomas produced a round of golf that was very much based on quality and plotting their way around, rather than big hits.
And after Thomas posted his shock at what the score in match-play would have been with McNealy, the new-kid on the block has his own suggestion.
After Thomas commented the following:
“Just went back through the day after thinking about that round by Mav I got to witness first hand today. If we would’ve played a match. I would have been 1 up thru 1….. then lost the next 10 consecutive holes to holes 9&8 holy smokes!!!!”
McNealy replied on his Instagram story with the words:
‘All I saw was a best ball 60 between us…maybe that could come in handy in NY sometime this fall’
Clearly, McNealy is hinting at a spot on the Ryder Cup team for Team USA under Keegan Bradley.
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Where Maverick McNealy sits in the Ryder Cup standings
Team USA have a serious talent pool to choose from but Maverick McNealy has put himself right in the mix to be selected automatically.
His second place at Torrey Pines means he’s now fifth in the US Ryder Cup rankings and if it was to stay as such, he’d earn his place on Bradley’s team.
Patrick Cantlay was another to move up the leaderboard thanks to his performance at Torrey and both he and McNealy will be hoping to get that top six and secure their spots.
Of course, there is a long time to go and majors to be won. But with the rest of the world so dominant right now on the TOUR, second and third place finishes might be just as important.
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