Maverick McNealy and Others Reap Huge Rewards from Autumn Hustle
While many of the top golfers in the world have been taking a break this autumn or participating in a few major events on the DP World Tour, Maverick McNealy has been one of the players competing in the FedEx Cup Fall series.
The 29-year-old has played in seven out of the eight events, which have taken place in the United States, Japan, Mexico, and Bermuda.
Despite possibly feeling exhausted, McNealy's hard work has paid off. In addition to winning his first PGA Tour title at The RSM Classic on Sunday, he also claimed the top spot on the Aon Next 10 list.
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This means that along with the $1.4 million prize and a two-year PGA Tour exemption, the former Stanford University standout has also secured a spot in the Masters, The Players, and the first three major events of 2025.
When informed of what his victory on Sunday had earned him for next year, McNealy responded, "The Masters? That's pretty cool, that will be fun. I've played at Augusta National twice, but I've never been there for the tournament."
All players on the Aon Next 10 list have also earned spots in the first two major events of next year, 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
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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 enter the Aon Next 10 list following the season-ending event, causing Justin Rose to drop from No. 60 to No. 62. Yu was one of three players to enter the top 60 during the fall season, along with Echavarria (who started at No. 108) and Griffin (who started at No. 61).
These 10 players 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 excitement that unfolded during the fall season. The second layer was the race to finish in the top 125 and secure fully exempt status for 2025.
Daniel Berger, who finished one shot behind McNealy on Sunday, jumped from No. 127 to No. 100 this week. It was also his seventh start of the fall season, and Sunday marked his best finish since winning at Pebble Beach in 2021. He had returned in January after being away from the tour for about 18 months due to a back injury.
Meanwhile, Henrik Norlander of Sweden tied for 17th at The RSM Classic, moving from No. 126 to No. 120. Fan favorite Joel Dahmen made the cut on Friday and then shot a 64 on Sunday to secure a T35 finish and end the season at No. 124.
This was one spot ahead of Sam Ryder, who held onto the 125th spot. This bumped Zac Blair to No. 126 and into conditional status for next year, along with those who finished at Nos. 126-150.
Just missing this group was former United States Ryder Cup star Ryan Moore, who failed to make the cut in Georgia, resulting in his fourth missed cut in six fall starts.
Dahmen, who made a 5 1/2-foot putt on Friday to make the cut, played in all eight events and openly discussed the emotional toll of working so hard to maintain his fully exempt status.
"This is my eighth year out here, and I probably lasted longer than I ever thought I would," he said. "You take it for granted a little bit. It's been relatively easy, staying between 50 and 90 on the FedEx Cup every year and enjoying it, and our best friends are out here.
"This is different. It 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
