Fall grind pays big dividends for Maverick McNealy, others

While most of the elite golfers in the world have been taking extended time off this fall or playing a few big events on the DP World Tour, Maverick McNealy has been among those grinding on the FedEx Cup Fall slate.

The 29-year-old played seven of the eight events, spanning the United States, Japan, Mexico and Bermuda.

He might be exhausted, but McNealy was rewarded handsomly for his efforts. In addition to claiming his maiden PGA Tour victory at the season-ending The RSM Classic on Sunday, McNealy claimed the top spot on the Aon Next 10.

That means along with the $1.4 million winner's check and a two-year PGA Tour exemption, the former Stanford star also secured a spot in the Masters, The Players and the first three signature events of 2025.

"Masters? That's pretty cool, that will be fun," McNealy said when told what Sunday's victory earned him for next year. "I've played (Augusta National) twice, but never been there for the tournament."

All players in the Aon Next 10 earned spots into the first two signature events next year at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and The Genesis Invitational.

AON NEXT 10

No. 51 Maverick McNealy

No. 52 Mackenzie Hughes

No. 53 Patrick Rodgers

No. 54 Nico Echavarria

No. 55 Harris English

No. 56 Seamus Power

No. 57 Ben Griffin

No. 58 Kevin Yu

No. 59 Tom Kim

No. 60 Nick Taylor

Yu was the only player to move into the Aon Next 10 following the season-ending event, bumping Justin Rose from No. 60 to No. 62. Yu was among three players who moved into the top 60 during the course of the fall, along with Echavarria (started No. 108) and Griffin (started No. 61).

Those 10 will join the top 50 as automatic qualifiers for the first two limited-event fields with increased prize money in 2025.

There were multiple layers of drama that unfolded during the course of the fall. The second layer was the race to finish inside the top 125 and secure fully exempt status for 2025.

Daniel Berger, who finished a shot behind McNealy on Sunday, vaulted from No. 127 to No. 100 this week. It was also the seventh start of the fall for the four-time PGA Tour winner, and Sunday marked his best finish since his most recent title at Pebble Beach in 2021. He had returned in January from a back injury that kept him away from the tour for about 18 months.

Meanwhile, Henrik Norlander of Sweden tied for 17th at The RSM Classic to move from No. 126 to No. 120. Fan favorite Joel Dahmen made the cut on the number on Friday to keep his hopes alive and then shot a 64 on Sunday to secure a T35 to finish No. 124.

That was one spot ahead of Sam Ryder, who held onto the 125th spot. That bumped Zac Blair to No. 126 and into conditional status next year along with those who finished Nos. 126-150.

Just missing that group was former United States Ryder Cup star Ryan Moore, who failed to reach the weekend in Georgia for his fourth missed cut in six fall starts.

Dahmen, who sank a 5 1/2-foot putt on Friday to make the cut, played in all eight events and spoke openly about the emotional drain of working so hard to keep his fully exempt status.

"This is my eighth year out here, I probably made it longer than I ever thought I would," he said. "You take it for granted a little bit. It's been relatively easy, cruise between 50 and 90 on the FedEx Cup every year and enjoy it, and our best friends are out here.

"This is different. Makes you appreciate things a little more when times are tough. I thought a lot about everything. It came down to the last putt this week. I hit thousands of golf shots this year, missed a lot of cuts, had a lot of opportunities to do everything, so it didn't have to come to this.

"So I was thankful for the opportunity today, but I don't want to go through this ever again."