FedEx Cup Fall drama, best public course

Check in every week for the unfiltered views of our writers and editors as they analyze the hottest topics in sports, and join the conversation by tweeting us at @igalofu_com. This week, we discuss Maverick McNealy’s first PGA Tour win, FedEx Cup Fall winners and losers, the best courses to play and more.

Maverick McNealy closed out the 2024 PGA Tour season with the first victory of his career, beating three others by a shot at the RSM Classic on Sunday. What took the elite rookie so long to earn his first Tour title, and does he expect a breakout 2025 to snowball?

Jack Hirsh, equipment editor (@JR_HIRSHey): That seems like a loaded question. Winning is hard on the PGA Tour. We’ve seen a lot of top-notch rookies come on the PGA Tour and go on to win, and we’ve seen plenty of people who have gone on to hall of fame careers. When he was dealing with injuries last year, he was still playing better in 2022 than this year, even if he won. I say it’s possible for him to win again, but I don’t expect him to be a top 10 or 20 player.

Josh Berhow, managing editor (@Josh_Berhow): He’s a different person in that he’s never been a star but he’s never really struggled to keep his PGA Tour card. You’ve just been… so good: solid off the ice, not so good on the greens and a great putter. It was a matter of time. It is no mistake that he has had so much success at the collegiate level. The first one is always the hardest. He will definitely be a team contender next year.

Alan Bastable, senior editor (@alan_bastable): Golf is a funny old game. Mav had six top 10 finishes this season but also 13 missed the cut or withdrawal. Predicting what players are able to do from one week to the next is almost impossible. What a month for Mav, though! He helped mastermind the Tour’s recently announced revamp of its FedEx Cup points distribution system, and now he has his first Tour title. If only he could persuade the Tour to release more RSM points…

Last week we found out (officially) that by 2026, only 100 players will earn full-time PGA Tour status. But in 2025, that magic number is still 125, and we learned those players at the season-ending RSM Classic on Sunday. Which player who performed just inside (or outside) of that cut line stood out to you the most?

The Hirsh: It has to be Joel Dahmen, who carded a Sunday 64 to finish No. 124 in the FedEx Cup. Dahmen has struggled to adjust to his newfound fame since being a central figure in the Netflix docuseries “Full Swing”. Having him on Tour makes for a more exciting, compelling and relatable product, so having him struggle to break into the ranks below the previous champion wouldn’t be much fun. I still think his best years are yet to come.

Behow: Yes, it’s hard to argue with Dahmen, as he was the biggest name in that No. 1 spot. 125. Two other freshman standouts in college, Parker and Pierceson Coody, both fell on the wrong side of that line, too.

Bastable: I have to say, I didn’t foresee anyone in the Creator Classic field to run on the Tour card, but that’s what Wes Bryan did, he narrowly missed out on three spots. When Bryan took heat for playing at that hit-and-giggle event for influencers earlier this year, he tweeted, “Are there really crazy people playing at this event? I’ve recorded 100+ long form youtube videos in the last two years… Not exactly a recipe for tour success, but Bryan has found a way to stay active until this week’s MC ends his card hopes.

We’ll spend a lot of time next month recapping your year on the PGA Tour, but off the top of your head, what’s the biggest thing you’ve learned or will remember about the 2024 PGA Tour season?

The Hirsh: Honestly, that Tiger-like runs are still possible. I think I had started to think that the generation of kids who got into golf because of Tiger Woods had made the game too deep for anyone to continue winning like they did nearly two decades ago. Scottie Scheffler is challenging the idea this year. No, he didn’t win as many majors as Woods often does, but until Scheffler’s 2024, no one had won seven times in a Tour season since Woods in 2007. And it’s not like Scheffler’s competition was weak, either. Sure, LIV Golf has produced Jon Rahm, Cam Smith, Jaco Neimann and others, but Scheffler has been winning against Xander Schauffele, who has won two majors himself, week after week. Let’s not forget that gold medal.

Behow: Scottie Scheffler will never return to Louisville.

Bastable: Yes, the Scheffler PGA fiasco will go down as one of the worst sports stories of all time, but even so, this year may be best remembered for what happened off the course. Or, more to the point, what he didn’t it happened. And that will continue until the PGA Tour and PIF finally strike a deal. The long drawn-out conversations absorbed a great deal of air in the room. Total amount.

And the 2024 LPGA season is complete, with Jeeno Thitikul winning the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship. Nelly Korda tied for fifth to lead the way on a successful seven-game winning streak. Quick: Will Korda match or surpass that number of season wins again in his career?

The Hirsh: I will continue to say: yes! Because as amazing as Korda’s season was, it was also weird. He missed three unscheduled midseason cuts including two majors, took two months between his first and second win, let go of opportunities to win the Open and the Olympics and dealt with some injuries. As long as his irons are still strong, I could see him winning sets like this for a few more years.

Behow: Yes. And boy, that sounds crazy to say, but I came to that conclusion in my head pretty quickly. I think he can keep getting better – like Jack said, he’s done some crazy things this year too – and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him do this again.

Bastable: Buzzkill Bastable says no. Seven wins is amazing, and the tour is getting deeper and deeper, which means wins will be harder to come by. As Jack notes, Nelly is also prone to injury; winning in groups requires staying healthy.

Last week, GOLF released its latest ranking of the Top 100 Courses You Can Play, a list full of superstar properties that are accessible to any Average Joe. If the age of the best community golf trips has this list in mind, where do you take our readers?

The Hirsh: I’ve used this space before to shout out my former hometown of Bend, Ore., and I will again. Bend is represented on our latest list of 100 Courses to Play by two Pronghorn courses, but it has a lot more to offer. Sunriver’s Crosswater course was once in the top 15 on our list and I believe it is one of the best inland courses I have ever played. The list goes on and on with Tetherow, Brasada Ranch, Black Butte Ranch and more. Within 90 minutes is an amazing hidden gem in the mountains called Tokatee, on GOLF’s list of America’s best golf courses for under $100. And while the five-hour drive to Bandon Dunes may seem long, it’s one of the most beautiful drives you can take.

Behow: The easy answer is to spend time kicking around Pebble Beach or Pinehurst, etc., and playing all those crazy tracks – and they tend to waste money, but I’ll also use my homer card and pick more Midwestern ones. a trip that won’t hurt your wallet is quiet and invisible. Play one of those top Wisconsin courses (Whistling or Sand Valley or Erin Hills, etc.) but then stop playing value at Lawsonia, and head to Minnesota (which I’m surprised didn’t get one nod at Our Top 100. You can play the list) and head north again on two Giants Ridges courses before driving to The Wilderness at nearby Fortune Bay. It’s a beautiful place with three of the best public courses in the state, and unless you’re brave enough to walk that far, most outsiders know nothing about it.

Bastable: No, Josh, the simple answer is, in fact, Bandon Dunes, which has five courses in the top 25. Bonus: the only road trip you need to worry about is getting to the resort. Less obvious rec: Tampa, Fla., area. Three Streamsong Top 100s, the new spread at Cabot Citrus Farms and the Copperhead course at Innisbrook are all within two hours of each other. Not a bad haul!