Can the low amateur at the 2019 U.S. Open catch Peter Malnati?
Viktor Hovland, aside from the No. 10 Matt Fitzpatrick, is the highest-ranked player (11th) on the Monterey Peninsula this week for the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
And it looks like he’s going to be part of the conversation when it’s crunch time.
Hovland, who won the 2018 U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach and claimed low amateur at the 2019 U.S. Open, opened the event with a 2-under 70 at Spyglass Hill before firing a 4-under 67 at Monterey Peninsula Country Club.
Due to the weather, Hovland’s day was done Saturday after making the turn with a 2-under 34 at Pebble Beach.
He’s four back of the lead, tied for sixth.
The man he’s chasing is Peter Malnati, a player whose one and only win on Tour came all the way back in 2016 at the Sanderson Farms. Before a solid week at the Farmers Insurance Open (T-20), Malnati had missed five cuts in seven events this season, including four straight.
The 35-year-old, like Hovland, played Pebble on Saturday and had himself a round (or, at least, part of one). Starting on No. 10, Malnati birdied Nos. 11-13 and turned with a 3-under 33. He then birdied Nos. 1-3 and was 18 feet away from another birdie on No. 4 when the horn blew.
Sandwiched in between Malnati and Hovland (T-6) are Joseph Bramlett and Keith Mitchell at 10 under, and Hank Lebioda and Kurt Kitayama at 9 under.
If you missed Saturday’s half day of action, no worries, we have you covered. Find a recap of day three at Pebble below.
Pebble Beach occupies a special place in Maverick McNealy’s heart.
For his 16th birthday, McNealy played the legendary track for the very first time. He grew up playing The Hay short course on the same property with his brothers, going around and around as any young kid would.
Since turning professional, McNealy has found success revisiting the Monterey Peninsula for the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. He’s finished inside the top five on two occasions, one garnering a silver medal behind Daniel Berger in 2021.
“This is one of, if not my favorite, event every year on Tour. I love the golf courses. I’d say any day with short sleeves at Pebble Beach is going to be a bucket list day,” he said Tuesday during a pre-tournament sit down with the media.
McNealy returns to his happy place with his game very much intact.
Since missing the weekend at the season-opening Fortinet Championship, the 27-year-old has collected five top-20 finishes in seven official starts including three top 10s.
“I feel like I’ve been doing everything just a little bit better this year. Putting has been a really bright spot for me, really consistent week in, week out,” he said.
“Just tweaking little things here and there. I don’t think there is any magic push to get over the hump and the hurdle, but just trying to find little bits and pieces that I can improve on here and there.”
McNealy’s finished runner-up twice in California during his Tour career. Why does he love pegging it in his home state so much? Two things: Poa annua grass and …
Grandma’s home cooking.
“I could start with the home cooking. I’m staying with my grandparents this week, so grandma’s home cooking,” he said.
With family in town, a meaningful venue, and the lack of a Tour win on his resume, is the Stanford grad putting too much pressure on himself this week?
“I think very, very much in the present,” McNealy said. “The past and the future are all things you just make up in your mind, and really the only thing that matters is right now.
“To be honest, I’m just focused on a few things right now. I’m focused on making sure my putting speed is good, making sure that I see lines on these greens, making sure that I do my golf swing maintenance, making sure that my body is in good shape and I am ready to go, and most importantly making sure I’m rested.”
The flat stick has been a big part of McNealy’s success so far this season. He ranks second in SG: Putting and should be able to keep the momentum moving in the right direction on his favorite surface.
Amid all the potential distractions, he’s looking forward to getting started on Thursday.
“I feel like I have a great chance to play great this week. Doesn’t put more pressure or expectations on me,” he said. “I am just focused on what I’m doing right now, and hopefully, it all turns out.”
Jordan Spieth’s last three starts at Pebble Beach: 2nd, T-3 and T-9.
It’s always nice going back to the Monterey Peninsula every February for the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. The pro field isn’t quite as strong as we’ve seen over the last month or so, regardless, it’s tough to beat a Sunday final round at the Jack Neville/Douglas Grant masterpiece.
Matt Fitzpatrick represents the lone top-10 player in the field, but he’s joined by Jordan Spieth, Viktor Hovland and Maverick McNealy.
For the first three rounds, players will rotate between three golf courses: Pebble Beach Golf Links, Monterey Peninsula Country Club (Shore Course) and Spyglass Hill Golf Course. The final round will be played at Pebble.
Maverick McNealy, Adam Scott and Kevin Streelman have been selected to run for PAC Chairman.
The PGA Tour announced its 16-member Player Advisory Council on Monday morning, as well as a handful of future leaders.
Maverick McNealy, Adam Scott and Kevin Streelman have been selected to run for PAC Chairman, with the election set to end Feb. 13. The winner will replace Charley Hoffman as a Player Director on the PGA Tour Policy Board (board of directors) starting Jan. 1, 2024, and will serve at three-year term (2024-26). The current Player Directors are Peter Malnati (2023-25), Rory McIlroy (2022-24), Webb Simpson (2023-25) and Patrick Cantlay (2023).
The release comes less than 24 hours after Paul Azinger said serving on the PAC – a group of players who advise and consult the PGA Tour Policy Board and Commissioner Jay Monahan on issues affecting the Tour – was “a colossal of waste time” during the Sony Open in Hawaii broadcast.
Meet the players serving on the PAC in 2023 (alphabetical order):
Ryan Armour
Sam Burns
Corey Conners
Rickie Fowler
Brice Garnett
Brian Harman
Max Homa
Mackenzie Hughes
Shane Lowry
Maverick McNealy
Keith Mitchell
Henrik Norlander
Scottie Scheffler
Adam Scott
Kevin Streelman
Will Zalatoris
Streelman was up for chairman role in 2021 but McIlroy prevailed in that vote.
Keep an eye on this mix of veterans and rising stars in 2023.
After taking a nearly two-month holiday hiatus, the PGA Tour will return to action the first week of January with the 2023 Sentry Tournament of Champions in Hawaii.
The last time we saw the boys in action, Adam Svensson earned his first win on Tour at the RSM Classic in November. Tom Kim earned his second career win a month before at the Shriners Children’s Open.
There were 12 first-time winners on Tour in 2022. Golfweek predicted two of them, while four won on other tours. So who do we have our eyes on for next year? From veterans to rising stars from the amateur ranks, here are 10 players who we predict will hoist a trophy on Tour for the first time in 2023.
Ten of the 12 teams at Tiburon Golf Course this week will be together for the first time.
Lexi Thompson is back for a sixth time at the QBE Shootout while her partner, Maverick McNealy, is a rookie at the event. The former Stanford star got his first look at Tiburon Golf Course on Wednesday. Thompson, however, competed there just last month at the LPGA season-ending CME Group Tour Championship. She won the CME at Tiburon in 2018.
“I know he’s good,” said Thompson, when the pair of 27-year-olds were asked what they knew about each other. McNealy commented on their shared competitive drive.
“We’re not showing up here as an exhibition,” he said. “I want to give us as many good looks from the fairway as possible and just hit it right at the flag. Really excited.”
This year marks the first time that two women are in the field as World No. 2 Nelly Korda will partner with Denny McCarthy. The winning team earns $950,000.
Earlier this week, the Associated Press reported that the QBE would become a mixed-team event between the PGA Tour and LPGA beginning in 2023. The two tours haven’t had a mixed-team event on the schedule for more than two decades.
“Golf being such an individual sport,” said Thompson, “we want more team events but definitely mixed women’s and men’s. I think it will be great for the game of golf. I think team events bring a lot bigger fan base. I think people absolutely love watching us play and fist pump and just be there for each other.”
Added McNealy: “I totally agree, I think any chance you can get the best golfers in the world period together and competing, that’s a great thing on both sides. I think it would be awesome.”
Maverick McNealy at the 2022 CJ Cup in South Carolina. (Photo: David Yeazell-USA TODAY Sports)
Ten of the 12 teams on hand this week will be together for the first time. The event, which is celebrating its 34th year, will feature a scramble format on Friday, modified alternate shot on Saturday and four-ball on Sunday.
Growing up with two older brothers, Thompson, an 11-time winner on the LPGA, relished the opportunity to play the back tees. It will feel like old times for her this week as the yardage at Tiburon is 7,382. The LPGA’s official yardage at CME was 6,556.
Lexi Thompson talks with her caddie while waiting to tee off on the ninth hole during the first round of the 2022 LPGA Pelican Women’s Championship at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida. (Photo: Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press)
“I wanted to play from all the way back with the guys,” said Thompson. “I was like, ‘I don’t want to play forward, let’s just give myself a challenge’. I get to hit driver on every single hole, which I absolutely love. I don’t get that opportunity very much when I play, so I love bombing it off the tee and hitting mid- to longer irons.”
Sam Burns’ two finishes at Memorial Park: T-7 and T-7.
After a week south of the border, the PGA Tour returns to the states for the Cadence Bank Houston Open in Houston, Texas.
Three of the world’s top 15 players, including No. 2 Scottie Scheffler, are set to tee off Thursday at Memorial Park Golf Course. Scheffler, who finished in a tie for third at Mayakoba last Sunday, is the betting favorite at +550. His good buddy Sam Burns is next in line at +1200 before Tony Finau and Aaron Wise come in at +1500.
Last season, LIV Golf’s Jason Kokrak won by two shots over Kevin Tway and Scheffler.
With a win this week, Scheffler would return to No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
Danny Lee, Russell Henley and Cameron Davis walk up the first fairway during the first round of the Vivint Houston Open at Memorial Park Golf Course on November 05, 2020 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Data Golf Information
Course Fit (compares golf courses based on the degree to which different golfer attributes — such as driving distance — to predict who performs well at each course – DataGolf): 1. Southern Hills Country Club, 2. Silverado Resort and Spa, 3. TPC Scottsdale
Trending (the players’ last three starts): 1. Taylor Montgomery (T-15, T-13, T-10), 2. Aaron Wise (T-64, 6, T-15), 3. Maverick McNealy (T-12, T-18, T-10)
Percent chance to win (based on course history, fit, trending, etc.): 1. Scottie Scheffler (13.3 percent), 2. Tony Finau (6 percent), 3. Aaron Wise (4.4 percent)
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If Jason Day can get it going on the greens in Mexico, watch out.
After a week on the beautiful island of Bermuda, the PGA Tour heads to another breathtaking part of the world, Riviera Maya, Mexico.
Several of the best players in the world, including world No. 2 Scottie Scheffler and two-time defending champion Viktor Hovland, headline yet another strong field.
After his 2020 triumph, Hovland came back to Mayakoba last season and out dueled Carlos Ortiz and Justin Thomas, winning by four strokes.
Five players who finished inside the top 10 last season now play on the Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf Series.
Scheffler, who grabbed a solo fourth here a year ago, is the betting favorite at +900.
Golf course
El Camaleón Golf Course at Mayakoba | Par 71 | 7,017 yards
The 15th hole during the final round of the 2021 World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba on El Camaleon golf course in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. (Photo: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
Data Golf Information
Course Fit (compares golf courses based on the degree to which different golfer attributes — such as driving distance — to predict who performs well at each course – DataGolf): 1. Sedgefield Country Club, 2. TPC Sawgrass, 3. TPC Potomac
Percent chance to win (based on course history, fit, trending, etc.): 1. Scottie Scheffler (10.6 percent), 2. Collin Morikawa (5.2 percent), 3. Billy Horschel (4.6 percent)
It was in 2017 that the ex-Stanford golfer “packed up everything I owned” and moved to Las Vegas.
LAS VEGAS — TPC Summerlin opened in 1991 and has been the sole location for the PGA Tour’s Vegas stop since 2008. The private course closed in April of this year for a massive re-sodding of all the tee boxes, fairways and greens.
It stayed closed till Monday of tournament week for the Shriners Children’s Open and not a ball was struck for five months, according to tournament director Patrick Lindsey, until Harry Hall on the 1st hole and Maverick McNealy on the 10th sent their shots flying early that morning.
“I wanted to be the first guy out at least on one of the nines and take the first divot, so I was here at 6:30 ready to tee off,” said McNealy, who has lived in the area since 2017.
He grew up in Northern California and played his college golf at Stanford. Five years ago, when he first played in Vegas, he decided he needed a change of address.
“Sam Ryder, he and I on the 1st hole [today], we were talking about the first time we played together five years ago. It was 2017 when we played this tournament. We were paired together. It felt like yesterday, but it also feels like forever ago,” McNealy said. “That was the week that I packed up everything I owned in my mom’s old Ford Explorer and drove to Las Vegas and moved here.”
He wasted no time fitting in to his new surroundings.
“I’ve been a proud resident for five years, a hockey fan and lucky to get to play a golf course like this, TPC Summerlin. Right next door, TPC Las Vegas, The Summit, Shadow Creek. There’s a lot of great golf courses out here.”
On Thursday, McNealy, who estimated he’s played TPC Summerlin as many as 150 times, shot a bogey-free, 7-under 64 to start his week. It’s his lowest tournament round in 11 outings at the Shriners.
Going low is the name of the game in golf and that’s especially true at a course that yields a lot of birdies. Avoiding bogey is also key, as golfers can’t afford to go backwards on this fast track.
Of the 180 holes played by the top 10 on the leaderboard of early-wave golfers Thursday, there were only five bogeys recorded.
Scenic views at the 2022 Shriners Children’s Open at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas. (Photo: Michael Owens/Getty Images)
And if birdies are good, eagles are great. Tom Hoge had two of them on his way to posting an 8-under 63 to take the outright clubhouse lead. It’s the second time he’s had two eagles in the same round. On Thursday, he made eagle two different ways, first holing out from 109 yards with a 52-degree wedge on No. 7, then pouring in a 30-foot putt on No. 16.
“It’s always nice to hole a wedge shot like that because it’s been a while since I’ve done it,” Hoge said. “Shoot, I’m trying to think of the last. I can’t even remember.”
It’s the ninth 18-hole lead for Hoge in his career.
Tied with McNealy in second at 7 under is Si Woo Kim, who had one of those five bogeys but he also tacked on eight birdies.
Kim was grouped with Presidents Cup teammate Tom Kim and Presidents Cup rival Max Homa. The U.S. vs. Internationals battle was a frequent topic of discussion for the group for more than four hours Thursday.
“We still have good memories there,” Si Woo Kim said. “We still talk about the Presidents Cup, like some holes. Then I finish a hole, and Tom came over on 18 and I said, ‘If you make that one, I got to ask you to go throw the hat like the last hole Saturday,'” he quipped.
Tom Kim is also in the mix at the Shriners. He, too, shot a bogey-free round of 6-under 65. Defending champ Sungjae Im, Sam Ryder, Keith Mitchell, Will Gordon, Thomas Detry and Tyler Duncan also all posted 65s.
For McNealy, having a home-course advantage and a strong cheering section can only help.
“It’s a really fun week because I have probably 15 to 20 people out watching on a given day. If I get to the weekend, it will be a big crowd,” he said.
And there are no second thoughts about his move to Vegas.
“It’s been awesome. My three brothers now live with me. We’re all living in the same house together. Joseph Bramlett lives with me. He’s also on Tour. And my parents are 15 minutes down the street. Really put my roots down here.”
Other scores of note on Thursday include Jason Day (5-under 66), Max Homa and Patrick Cantlay (4-under 67), Gary Woodland (3-under 68) and Rickie Fowler (1-under 70).
The first round was suspended due to darkness at 6:29 p.m. local time (9:39 p.m. ET) with three golfers still on the course, all of them on their last hole: Scott Harrington and Philip Knowles on No. 9, Eric Cole on No. 18.
Plenty of players are looking to punch their tickets to East Lake Golf Club.
The second leg of the FedEx Cup Playoffs begins Thursday at Wilmington Country Club in Wilmington, Delaware, at the BMW Championship. That means only the top-70 players from the PGA Tour FedEx Cup standings qualified and are shooting for the season-long prize, the FedEx Cup.
Only 68 players will tee it up, and from there, only the top 30 in the standings advance to the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. The winner of the FedEx Cup Playoffs will take home $18 million and the FedEx Cup.
Cameron Smith, No. 3 in the FedEx Cup standings and into next week’s field, won’t tee it up at the BMW Championship, withdrawing Monday.
Here’s a closer look at some names in the FedEx Cup points standings, including those who are on the bubble and others who need a big week to make the Tour Championship.
