McNealy, after 64, leading in Napa
Maverick McNealy grew up in Portola Valley and played college golf at Stanford, so he should feel entirely comfortable when the PGA Tour brings him back to Northern California.
And he does, clearly. McNealy, after matching Tiger Woods and Patrick Rodgers for the school record with 11 wins, needed some time to find his footing as a professional. He started to find it in February at Pebble Beach, where he threatened to win and ultimately took second behind Daniel Berger. That launched a solid season, full of top-25 finishes but without another splashy showing.
Now, with the tour in Napa for this week’s Fortinet Championship, McNealy climbed into a tidy rhythm Friday at Silverado Resort. His adventurous 64, punctuated by a
chip-in for eagle on his final hole, propelled him into the lead at 12-under-par, two strokes clear of Beau Hossler and Mito Pereira.
The sight of McNealy atop the leaderboard makes perfect sense in many ways, given his triumphant college career. He abruptly became an elite amateur, making the 2017 Walker Cup team alongside players such as Collin Morikawa, Cameron Champ, Scottie Scheffler and Will Zalatoris.
Morikawa, at 24, already has two major championships. Champ has three PGA Tour victories, Scheffler made the Ryder Cup team and Zalatoris earned Rookie-of-the-Year honors.
McNealy methodically marches to his own beat, inching ahead step by step.
“It’s really easy to get caught up in that — man, I’m 25 years old and I don’t have a major championship yet? What’s going on?” he said sarcastically. “Those guys are great. They’ve always been really high-level players, and I’m kind of a late bloomer when it comes to being good at golf.
“What I’m really excited about is I’ve seen steady improvement the last four years. Every year, I see myself getting better.”
To hear caddie Travis McAlister tell it, McNealy has learned the value of patience since he graduated from Stanford and turned pro in 2017. Don’t force a shot through the trees. Don’t worry about the wild success of your age-group peers.
Or maybe McNealy finds motivation in seeing his onetime teammates hoist trophies?
“I think it stokes the fire,” McAlister said. “He sees the success coming from players who are so relatable to him.”
McNealy also finds motivation in the perseverance of Joseph Bramlett, one of his Las Vegas roommates. Bramlett, 33, collected his first professional victory Sept. 5 at the Korn Ferry Tour Championship, after a long road marked by a serious, lingering back injury.
Bramlett and McNealy routinely compete against each other in friendly games when they’re both home. Justin Suh, another tour pro who grew up in San Jose, often joins them for early morning practice rounds at TPC Las Vegas.
“We push each other and help each other,” Bramlett said. “It’s definitely a healthy competitiveness.”
McNealy had a strange round Friday. He shot 31 on his first nine; then made three consecutive bogeys; then made four consecutive birdies.
On his final hole (No. 9), a par-5, he left his second shot just short of the green and more than 70 feet from the flagstick. His chip shot seemed strong, but the ball obediently slowed down and disappeared into the hole for eagle.
Nice way to end the round. “This is one of the places on tour where I don’t feel like as much of a rookie, and it’s going back to my Bay Area roots,” McNealy said. “Something about the air here; I feel really comfortable.”
Briefly: Zalatoris, who was born in San Francisco and lived in Belmont until age 9, shot 67 and trails McNealy by three strokes . ... Phil Mickelson will enter the weekend seven shots off the lead after his 69.