Maverick McNealy
Personal information
Full name Maverick Scott McNealy
Born (1995-11-07) November 7, 1995 (age 30)
Portola Valley, California, U.S.
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)[1]
Weight 170 lb (77 kg)[1]
Sporting nationality  United States
Residence Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.[1]
Spouse
Maya Daniels
​
(m. 2023)​
Career
College Stanford University
Turned professional 2017
Current tour PGA Tour
Former tour Korn Ferry Tour
Professional wins 1
Highest ranking 10 (April 6, 2025)[2]
(as of May 17, 2026)
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour 1
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament T18: 2026
PGA Championship T18: 2026
U.S. Open 37th: 2025
The Open Championship T23: 2025
Achievements and awards
Haskins Award 2015
Mark H. McCormack Medal 2016
Ben Hogan Award 2017

Maverick Scott McNealy (born November 7, 1995)[3] is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. He reached number one in the World Amateur Golf Ranking in 2015. McNealy turned professional in 2017 and won his first tournament on the PGA Tour in 2024.

Early life and amateur career

McNealy was born in Stanford, California, on November 7, 1995,[1] to Susan and Scott McNealy.[4] In 1982, Scott co-founded Sun Microsystems, a technology company which was acquired by Oracle Corporation for $7.4 billion in 2010.[5]

McNealy was one of four children, all boys. Scott McNealy, who played collegiate golf at Harvard University, introduced his sons to golf at a young age. Scott stated in 2014: "I told the boys, never mind a silver spoon; you’ve got a platinum spoon in your mouth. Everybody’s going to think it was given to you. So you have to outwork and outclass everyone on the planet or they’re just going to think you’re a child of privilege."[4] Alongside golf, McNealy competed in basketball, soccer, and hockey during his youth. He was part of two California state hockey championships with the San Jose Junior Sharks.[4]

McNealy qualified for the 2014 U.S. Open at Pinehurst at the age of 18.[6] During the 2014−15 golf season, McNealy shot a 61 in the final round of the Pac-12 Conference Championship tournament, tying the 18-hole Stanford record held by Tiger Woods and Cameron Wilson.[7] In 2015, he won the Haskins Award, which is presented annually to the best collegiate male golfer in the United States, becoming the third Stanford University golfer to win the award since 1971 (the other two being Woods and Patrick Rodgers).[8]

Despite being America's most highly rated professional golf prospect in 2016, McNealy considered passing on professional golf for a career in business.[8][5] In August 2017, McNealy confirmed that he would turn professional after the 2017 Walker Cup. His professional debut was at the Safeway Open.

Professional career

McNealy played on the Web.com Tour in 2018. He played in 18 tournaments, making the cut in 12. His best finish was a tie for third at the United Leasing & Finance Championship. McNealy earned a total of $84,261 and finished 65th on the money list for 2018. He did not earn a PGA Tour card for the 2018–19 season but he did earn full status on the Web.com Tour for the 2019 season.[9]

McNealy earned his PGA Tour card for the 2019–20 season, via his finish on the 2019 Korn Ferry Tour.

In November 2024, McNealy won the RSM Classic for his first PGA Tour victory in his 134th start. McNealy birdied the final hole to win by one.[10][11]

McNealy reached a career high Official World Golf Ranking of 10 in April 2025.

Personal life

McNealy met his wife Maya Daniels, a kinesiologist, at a physical therapy clinic in Las Vegas. They married in 2023 and had their first child in 2025.[12]

As of 2023, McNealy is a licensed pilot, flying himself in a Cirrus SR22 single-engine propeller plane to compete in the 2025 Genesis Invitational golf tournament held in Pacific Palisades, California.[13][14] His brother, Scout, was his caddie for the 2025 PGA Tour season.[15]

Professional wins (1)

PGA Tour wins (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runners-up
1 Nov 24, 2024 RSM Classic −16 (62-70-66-68=266) 1 stroke United States Daniel Berger, United States Luke Clanton (a),
Colombia Nico Echavarría

Amateur wins

  • 2014 OFCC Fighting Illini Invite, SW Invite
  • 2015 The Prestige at PGA West, The Goodwin, Pac-12 Championships, NCAA Chapel Hill Regional, Northern California Amateur Match Play, OFCC Fighting Illini Invite, U.S. Collegiate Championship, Gifford Collegiate-CordeValle
  • 2016 Western Intercollegiate, Nike Collegiate Invite

Source:[16]

Results in major championships

Results not in chronological order in 2020.

Tournament 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open CUT CUT
The Open Championship CUT
PGA Championship
Tournament 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026
Masters Tournament T32 T18
PGA Championship CUT T75 CUT T23 T33 T18
U.S. Open 37
The Open Championship NT CUT T23
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
NT = no tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

Summary

Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 2
PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 0 2 6 4
U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1
The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 1
Totals 0 0 0 0 0 4 14 8
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 6 (2025 Masters – 2026 PGA Championship, current)

Results in The Players Championship

Tournament 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026
The Players Championship CUT T46 T60 T9 CUT T32
  Top 10

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Results in World Golf Championships

Tournament 2022 2023
Match Play 17 T52
Champions NT1

1Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
"T" = Tied
NT = No tournament
Note that the Champions was discontinued from 2023.

U.S. national team appearances

Amateur

  • Arnold Palmer Cup: 2015 (winners), 2017 (winners)
  • Walker Cup: 2015, 2017 (winners)
  • Eisenhower Trophy: 2016

See also

  • 2019 Korn Ferry Tour Finals graduates

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Maverick McNealy PGA TOUR Player Profile, Stats, Bio, Career". www.pgatour.com. Retrieved May 16, 2026.
  2. ^ "Week 14 2025 Ending 6 Apr 2025" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved April 7, 2025.
  3. ^ "Maverick McNealy". Stanford University. Retrieved June 10, 2016.
  4. ^ a b c Crouse, Karen (June 12, 2014). "A Family That Plays Together Reconvenes at Pinehurst". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 16, 2026.
  5. ^ a b Knowlton, Emmett (June 7, 2016). "The son of a Silicon Valley legend is one of the best amateur golfers in the world, but he may never turn pro". Business Insider.
  6. ^ Porter, Kyle. "Star amateur golfer's dad: Waiters are more productive than Tiger Woods". CBS Sports. Retrieved June 10, 2016.
  7. ^ Newport, John Paul (May 8, 2015). "The Golf Upstart of Silicon Valley". Wall Street Journal.
  8. ^ a b Costa, Brian (June 6, 2016). "Why America's Best Golf Prospect May Never Turn Pro". Wall Street Journal.
  9. ^ "Maverick McNealy". PGA Tour. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  10. ^ Ferguson, Doug (November 24, 2024). "Maverick McNealy birdies the last hole at Sea Island to finally become PGA Tour winner". Associated Press News. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
  11. ^ "Maverick McNealy birdies final holes at The RSM Classic for long-awaited first Tour victory". PGA Tour. Associated Press. November 24, 2024. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
  12. ^ "Maverick McNealy Feels Like He Already Won With Wife, Maya, and Daughter Adeline". The Athlete Lifestyle On SI. May 16, 2026. Retrieved May 16, 2026.
  13. ^ Schupak, Adam (February 16, 2025). "The inside story of Maverick McNealy, the pilot, and flying to the Genesis Invitational". Golfweek. Retrieved February 17, 2025.
  14. ^ Hall, Mike (February 13, 2025). "PGA Tour Pro Flies Himself To Torrey Pines For Genesis Invitational". Golf Monthly. Retrieved February 16, 2025.
  15. ^ Morfit, Cameron (November 8, 2024). "With brother as caddie, Maverick McNealy in contention at World Wide Technology Championship". PGA Tour. Retrieved February 17, 2025.
  16. ^ "Maverick McNealy". World Amateur Golf Ranking. Retrieved June 22, 2018.