Maverick McNealy signed for a bogey-free 8-under 62 at the Seaside Course featuring an eagle at the par-5 15th to take a share of the lead at The RSM Classic.
“I feel like we kind of did everything really well,” said McNealy. “I drove it awesome, iron play was about as good as it’s been all year. The last three tournaments it’s really been great and that’s the part of my game I’ve wanted to improve the most. I chipped in today, got everything up and down and putted awesome today, too. There’s really nothing weak out there today.”
McNealy’s 62 was a career-low round on the PGA Tour for his first 18-hole lead. He has previously finished runner-up twice in 141 starts, at the 2021 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the 2021 Procore Championship.
Michael Thorbjornsen, back from a knee injury, shot a bogey-free 8-under 64 at the Plantation Course for his share of the lead.
“I feel like I’ve been putting in some really good work these past couple days, or these past couple weeks, making some new swing changes,” said Thorbjornsen. “I don’t know, I really like the course out there. I’ve been working really hard on my putting, too, with my putting coach. We’ve been seeing some good results and I’m a lot more confident over the ball and it kind of shows today, definitely made some putts.”
Thorbjornsen is playing in his 19th career Tour start and 11th as a professional and also holds the lead for the first time. He has three career top-10 finishes, at the 2024 John Deere Classic (T2), the 2024 Sanderson Farms Championship (T8) and the 2022 Travelers Championship (4th, as amateur).
Last week’s runner-up Andrew Novak lies in third place after firing a bogey-free 7-under 65 at the Plantation Course.
The only non-American in the top-5, Belgium’s Adrien Dumont de Chassart, shot a 6-under 64 at the Seaside Course featuring an eagle at the par-5 7th and a single bogey at the par-3 3rd for a share of fourth place.
Chandler Phillips shares fourth place after closing with a 66 at the Plantation Course.
In his first start since surgery on his left knee, defending champion Ludvig Åberg of Sweden opened with a 3-over 73 at the Seaside Course and lies in T135.
*
Nos. 1-50 in the FedExCup standings through the Tour Championship are locked in their positions, while Nos. 51 and beyond carry their FedExCup points into the Fall. Nos. 51-60 through the FedExCup Fall will qualify for two Signature Events in 2025: AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, The Genesis Invitational. No players moved into Nos. 51-60 this week.
The Top 125 will be exempt into all Full-Field events and The Players next season and Nos. 126-150 will earn full Korn Ferry Tour status and conditional status on Tour next season.
Related: The “Finicky Golfer” – “Richland” at Reynolds Lake Oconee
| Pos. | Player | To Par | R1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | Maverick McNealy(SS) | -8 | 62 |
| T1 | Michael Thorbjornsen(PL) | -8 | 64 |
| 3 | Andrew Novak(PL) | -7 | 65 |
| T4 | Adrien Dumont de Chassart(SS) | -6 | 64 |
| T4 | Chandler Phillips(PL) | -6 | 66 |
| T6 | Patrick Rodgers(SS) | -5 | 65 |
| T6 | Michael Kim(SS) | -5 | 65 |
| T6 | Kevin Yu(PL) | -5 | 67 |
| T6 | Kelly Kraft(SS) | -5 | 65 |
| T6 | Keith Mitchell(PL) | -5 | 67 |
| T6 | Harris English(PL) | -5 | 67 |
| T6 | Austin Eckroat(PL) | -5 | 67 |
| T13 | Matt NeSmith(PL) | -4 | 68 |
| T13 | Eric Cole(PL) | -4 | 68 |
| T13 | Kevin Chappell(PL) | -4 | 68 |
| T13 | Will Gordon(SS) | -4 | 66 |
| T13 | Stewart Cink(PL) | -4 | 68 |
| T13 | Dylan Wu(PL) | -4 | 68 |
| T13 | Mackenzie Hughes(PL) | -4 | 68 |
| T20 | Justin Suh(PL) | -3 | 69 |
| T20 | Patrick Fishburn(SS) | -3 | 67 |
| T20 | Martin Trainer(PL) | -3 | 69 |
| T20 | Vince Whaley(SS) | -3 | 67 |
| T20 | Ryan Moore(PL) | -3 | 69 |
| T20 | Nico Echavarria(SS) | -3 | 67 |
| T20 | Tom Whitney(PL) | -3 | 69 |
| T20 | Anders Albertson(PL) | -3 | 69 |
| T20 | Callum Tarren(SS) | -3 | 67 |
| T20 | Ben Griffin(PL) | -3 | 69 |
| T20 | Jonathan Byrd(PL) | -3 | 69 |
| T20 | Robert Streb(PL) | -3 | 69 |
| T20 | K.H. Lee(PL) | -3 | 69 |
| T20 | Zecheng Dou(PL) | -3 | 69 |
| T34 | Dylan Frittelli(PL) | -2 | 70 |
| T34 | Garrick Higgo(PL) | -2 | 70 |
| T34 | Lanto Griffin(SS) | -2 | 68 |
| T34 | Josh Teater(PL) | -2 | 70 |
| T34 | Hayden Buckley(PL) | -2 | 70 |
| T34 | Luke Clanton(a) (SS) | -2 | 68 |
| T34 | Davis Riley(SS) | -2 | 68 |
| T34 | Si Woo Kim(PL) | -2 | 70 |
| T34 | Tommy Gainey(SS) | -2 | 68 |
| T34 | Erik Barnes(PL) | -2 | 70 |
| T34 | Austin Smotherman(SS) | -2 | 68 |
| T34 | Drew Doyle(PL) | -2 | 70 |
| T34 | Marcus Byrd(PL) | -2 | 70 |
| T34 | Bud Cauley(SS) | -2 | 68 |
| T34 | Sangmoon Bae(PL) | -2 | 70 |
| T34 | Zach Johnson(PL) | -2 | 70 |
| T34 | Davis Thompson(PL) | -2 | 70 |
| T34 | Brandt Snedeker(SS) | -2 | 68 |
| T34 | Taylor Moore(SS) | -2 | 68 |
| T34 | Chris Kirk(PL) | -2 | 70 |
| T34 | Wesley Bryan(PL) | -2 | 70 |
| T55 | Adam Long(PL) | -1 | 71 |
| T55 | Joseph Bramlett(SS) | -1 | 69 |
| T55 | Adam Hadwin(SS) | -1 | 69 |
| T55 | J.J. Spaun(PL) | -1 | 71 |
| T55 | Matt Kuchar(PL) | -1 | 71 |
| T55 | Aaron Baddeley(PL) | -1 | 71 |
| T55 | Lee Hodges(SS) | -1 | 69 |
| T55 | Brendon Todd(PL) | -1 | 71 |
| T55 | Adam Schenk(PL) | -1 | 71 |
| T55 | Rafael Campos(PL) | -1 | 71 |
| T55 | Martin Laird(SS) | -1 | 69 |
| T55 | Blaine Hale, Jr.(PL) | -1 | 71 |
| T55 | Alejandro Tosti(SS) | -1 | 69 |
| T55 | Ryan McCormick(PL) | -1 | 71 |
| T55 | Cody Gribble(PL) | -1 | 71 |
| T55 | Alex Smalley(PL) | -1 | 71 |
| T55 | S.Y. Noh(SS) | -1 | 69 |
| T55 | Taylor Montgomery(SS) | -1 | 69 |
| T55 | Bill Haas(PL) | -1 | 71 |
| T55 | Patton Kizzire(PL) | -1 | 71 |
| T55 | Jake Knapp(SS) | -1 | 69 |
| T55 | Brice Garnett(PL) | -1 | 71 |
| T55 | Denny McCarthy(SS) | -1 | 69 |
| T55 | Lucas Glover(PL) | -1 | 71 |
| T55 | Kevin Dougherty(PL) | -1 | 71 |
| T80 | Sam Ryder(PL) | Par | 72 |
| T80 | Carson Young(SS) | Par | 70 |
| T80 | Tyson Alexander(SS) | Par | 70 |
| T80 | Ben Taylor(PL) | Par | 72 |
| T80 | Adam Svensson(SS) | Par | 70 |
| T80 | Nick Hardy(PL) | Par | 72 |
| T80 | Kevin Streelman(PL) | Par | 72 |
| T80 | J.T. Poston(SS) | Par | 70 |
| T80 | Brian Harman(SS) | Par | 70 |
| T80 | Russell Knox(SS) | Par | 70 |
| T80 | Hayden Springer(SS) | Par | 70 |
| T80 | Paul Peterson(SS) | Par | 70 |
| T80 | Mark Hubbard(SS) | Par | 70 |
| T80 | Sam Stevens(SS) | Par | 70 |
| T80 | Nick Watney(SS) | Par | 70 |
| T80 | Sepp Straka(PL) | Par | 72 |
| T80 | Matt Wallace(SS) | Par | 70 |
| T80 | Francesco Molinari(PL) | Par | 72 |
| T80 | Zac Blair(PL) | Par | 72 |
| T80 | Wilson Furr(SS) | Par | 70 |
| T80 | Christo Lamprecht(PL) | Par | 72 |
| T101 | Brandon Wu(SS) | +1 | 71 |
| T101 | S.H. Kim(SS) | +1 | 71 |
| T101 | Matt McCarty(SS) | +1 | 71 |
| T101 | Daniel Berger(SS) | +1 | 71 |
| T101 | Ryo Hisatsune(SS) | +1 | 71 |
| T101 | Greyson Sigg(SS) | +1 | 71 |
| T101 | Roger Sloan(SS) | +1 | 71 |
| T101 | Andrew Putnam(SS) | +1 | 71 |
| T101 | Henrik Norlander(SS) | +1 | 71 |
| T101 | Ryan Brehm(SS) | +1 | 71 |
| T101 | Joel Dahmen(PL) | +1 | 73 |
| T101 | Joe Highsmith(SS) | +1 | 71 |
| T113 | William McGirt(SS) | +2 | 72 |
| T113 | Ben Kohles(SS) | +2 | 72 |
| T113 | Jacob Bridgeman(PL) | +2 | 74 |
| T113 | James Hahn(SS) | +2 | 72 |
| T113 | Troy Merritt(SS) | +2 | 72 |
| T113 | Luke List(SS) | +2 | 72 |
| T113 | Sean O'Hair(SS) | +2 | 72 |
| T113 | Tim Wilkinson(PL) | +2 | 74 |
| T113 | Kyle Westmoreland(PL) | +2 | 74 |
| T113 | Steven Fisk(SS) | +2 | 72 |
| T113 | Raul Pereda(PL) | +2 | 74 |
| T113 | Nate Lashley(SS) | +2 | 72 |
| T113 | Robby Shelton(SS) | +2 | 72 |
| T113 | Doug Ghim(SS) | +2 | 72 |
| T113 | Sung Kang(PL) | +2 | 74 |
| T113 | Peter Malnati(SS) | +2 | 72 |
| T113 | Cameron Champ(SS) | +2 | 72 |
| T113 | Chad Ramey(SS) | +2 | 72 |
| T113 | Chez Reavie(SS) | +2 | 72 |
| T113 | Philip Knowles(SS) | +2 | 72 |
| T113 | Blake McShea(SS) | +2 | 72 |
| T113 | Paul Barjon(PL) | +2 | 74 |
| T135 | Carl Yuan(PL) | +3 | 75 |
| T135 | Richy Werenski(SS) | +3 | 73 |
| T135 | Austin Cook(PL) | +3 | 75 |
| T135 | Tyler Duncan(PL) | +3 | 75 |
| T135 | Ludvig Åberg(SS) | +3 | 73 |
| T135 | Trey Mullinax(SS) | +3 | 73 |
| T135 | Reid Davenport(PL) | +3 | 75 |
| T135 | MJ Daffue(PL) | +3 | 75 |
| T135 | Camilo Villegas(SS) | +3 | 73 |
| T144 | Kevin Tway(SS) | +4 | 74 |
| T144 | Kevin Kisner(PL) | +4 | 76 |
| T144 | Pierceson Coody(PL) | +4 | 76 |
| T144 | Webb Simpson(SS) | +4 | 74 |
| T144 | Gary Woodland(SS) | +4 | 74 |
| T144 | Seamus Power(PL) | +4 | 76 |
| T150 | Norman Xiong(SS) | +5 | 75 |
| T150 | Justin Lower(SS) | +5 | 75 |
| T150 | Trace Crowe(SS) | +5 | 75 |
| T150 | Jacob Modleski(a) (PL) | +5 | 77 |
| 154 | David Skinns(PL) | +6 | 78 |
| 155 | Francisco Bidé(SS) | +7 | 77 |
| 156 | Davis Love III(PL) | +10 | 82 |
