A windy day on St. Simons Island, Georgia, saw Maverick McNealy make his way to the top of the 2024 RSM Classic leaderboard. Navigating through the Seaside Course at Sea Island in a bogey-free fashion, the Stanford graduate tacked on six birdies and an eagle to sign for an 8-under 62 in the first round of the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup Fall finale. McNealy was caught by Michael Thorbjornsen in the late stages of the first round as the PGA Tour rookie carded an 8-under 64 on the more accessible Plantation Course.
"I feel like we kind of did everything really well," McNealy said. "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."
Coming into the year playing on a major medical extension, McNealy made easy work of his early opportunities to regain full-time status. Now well inside the Aon Next 10, which qualifies for the first two signature events of 2025, the right hander seeks more than a spot in the fields at Pebble Beach and Riviera, and instead intends on securing a spot in the winner's circle.
"I started the fall wanting to be in the top 60, and now that that's pretty much taken care of, Scott and I want to get to Kapalua," McNealy said. "That's our next box to tick, so good start today for that."
McNealy takes to the Plantation Course on Friday, where Thorbjorsen was among the many to go low on Thursday. Just recently exiting the college ranks through PGA Tour University, McNealy's fellow Stanford product will persist across the next 54 holes just as he did this past summer when he finished runner-up at the John Deere Classic in what was his third start as a professional.
The leaders
T1. Maverick McNealy, Michael Thorbjornsen (-8)
The good news for Thorbjornsen is that six of the last seven winners at the RSM Classic started on the Plantation Course. The bad news is he has gotten through the easier of the two golf courses and finds himself in a share of the lead with a player who still has a date with the Plantation Course.
The 23-year-old should feel more than comfortable in this position despite this week representing his 11th start on Tour. Stating at the beginning of his professional career that he wished to replicate the success of Ludvig Åberg — who finished No. 1 in PGA Tour University the year prior — Thorbjornsen now has the opportunity to do just that. A win would secure starts at The Sentry, the Masters and the PGA Championship and completely open up his first full-time season on the PGA Tour.
Other contenders
3. Andrew Novak (-7)
T4. Adrien Dumont de Chassart, Chandler Phillips (-6)
T6. Patrick Rodgers, Michael Kim, Kevin Yu, Kelly Kraft, Keith Mitchell, Harris English, Austin Eckroat (-5)
A name many had circled coming into 2024 was that of Dumont de Chassart. The Belgian arrived on the PGA Tour fresh off a Rookie of the Year campaign on the Korn Ferry Tour, but outside of a couple quality starts in opposite field events, Dumont de Chassart struggled to get his feet underneath him for much of his rookie year.
Collecting two top-25 finishes and 13 missed cuts in his first 23 starts, the 24-year-old found something in Bermuda, where he nabbed a podium finish and injected some life into his season. Moving inside the cut-off for conditional status with his play last week, Dumont de Chassart now eyes another quality result to push him inside the top 125 that secures full-time status.
"It's been lots of learning this year, I'd say," Dumont de Chassart said. "You know, I'm glad it's working out. A little late maybe, but being a rookie, you get to play a new course every week. That's not easy. I made some changes early in the year, which was a little tough at first, especially when it came to my confidence. To know that I finished in the top three last week definitely gave me a boost, and coming out today and shooting a 6 under round is pretty solid in this wind."
Bubble watch
There is little movement when it comes to the Aon Next 10 as Novak and Yu are projected to move inside the top 60 following stellar first rounds. While they hope to play in the first two signature events next year, others just hope to play on the PGA Tour. With Dumont de Chassart and Thorbjornsen (who is secure no matter the result due to PGA Tour University) moving inside the top 125, Wesley Bryan and Joel Dahmen are among a handful of players moving out.
| Position | Score | Name | Projected FedEx Cup standings | Starting FedEx Cup standings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
T12 | -4 | Dylan Wu | 121 | 131 |
155 | +6 | David Skinns | 122 | 120 |
T4 | -6 | Adrian Dumont de Chassart | 124 | 142 |
T80 | E | Sam Ryder | 125 | 122 |
T34 | -2 | Wesley Bryan | 126 | 125 |
T80 | E | Zac Blair | 127 | 123 |
T101 | +1 | Joel Dahmen | 128 | 124 |
Åberg's return off to slow start
In the early stages of the first round, the defending champion looked like he hadn't missed a beat coming off a two-month hiatus due to injury. Carding a birdie on No. 1, Åberg struggled from there and got himself into trouble off the tee on more than one occasion.
Adding three bogeys to his scorecard before the turn, Åberg's biggest blemish came on the par-4 10th when he overcooked his drive and found the penalty area. Leading to a triple bogey, the Swede dropped to 5 over before battling back with a couple nice birdies to finish the day with a 73, his highest score since The Open.
"It was hard, obviously it was a rough day," Åberg said. "It was a lot of rust I felt like, but I also felt like the good was pretty good but the bad was really bad. A little bit of everything today, but all in all, pretty happy to be back playing golf again."
Back like he never left.
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) November 21, 2024
Defending champ Ludvig Åberg is 1-under thru 1 @TheRSMClassic! pic.twitter.com/slQ1ybVkvu
2024 RSM Classic updated odds and picks
Golf betting odds below provided via DraftKings Sportsbook. Check out the latest DraftKings promo to get in the game.
- Maverick McNealy: 3-1
- Andrew Novak: 9-1
- Michael Thorbjornsen: 10-1
- Patrick Rodgers: 12-1
- Michael Kim: 16-1
- Harris English: 18-1
Only Kim and English are PGA Tour winners listed below 20-1, so the confidence is not high with this bunch. Of the favorites, Novak draws the most interest fresh off a contention run in Bermuda and with both his iron play and putter in good form. If asked to look further down the board, Yu only three back at 55-1 seems more than fair having already won this fall.
