ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. (AP) — Maverick McNealy has learned in his five years on the PGA Tour that trying to win a tournament is “designed to make you as uncomfortable as possible.”

Standing in the 18th fairway Sunday at the RSM Classic, part of a four-way tie for the lead that included Florida State sophomore Luke Clanton, McNealy, 29, had every reason to be sore comfortable.

He had gone nine holes without a birdie. At 185 yards, he chose a 6-iron, a club that had traveled between 120 and 240 yards during a week of high winds and cold weather, and at that point as hot as it had been all tournament.

The shot felt like it had been there before, covering the flagstick and landing from 5 feet for birdie and his first PGA Tour victory in his 134th start as a professional. That sends him to Maui to start next year and to the Masters in April for the first time.

“A moment I will never forget,” he said.

Daniel Berger missed a 20-foot birdie attempt at the 18th that preceded McNealy’s winner. He tied for second with Nico Echavarria and Clanton, who both missed par putts inside 8 feet on the final hole that tied the game at four.

Berger received a small consolation prize, placing in the top 125 to retain a full PGA Tour card for 2025, when the fields will be smaller and only the top 100 will retain cards.

Henrik Norlander, who was No. 126 in last year’s FedEx Cup, had a 63-68 weekend and joined Berger as two players who entered the top 125.

For Joel Dahmen, it was about staying there.

He was ranked 124th heading into the final tournament, had to sink a 5-foot putt just to lower the number, then delivered a tee-to-green clinic – plus holed a 113-yard sand wedge for eagle early in his round – for a final score of 64. That was enough to stay in 124th place with nine points to spare.

“I had two of the biggest pressure moments of my career, and I can continue to build on them,” Dahmen said.

Clanton was set to join Nick Dunlap as this year’s PGA Tour amateur winner. Clanton, who became the world’s top amateur, now has two second-place finishes and four top 10s in seven PGA Tour starts over the past five months.

He looked like a winner, especially with McNealy stuck in neutral, when he made birdie putts on the 14th and 16th holes to tie for the lead. But he pulled his approach to the 18th into the bunker, blasted to 7 feet and missed his par putt. He shot 66.

“It’ll definitely be tough to take, that’s for sure, after missing the last one,” Clanton said. “But I think it proved to me that I can win here, so I’m going to train for that.”

Echavarria, who won in Japan a month ago, hadn’t made a bogey all day until he went long on the 18th, rising to 9 feet and catching the lip with his par putt.

Michael Thorbjornsen was poised to move into the top 125 until he waded into the water at the par-5 15th hole and made bogey, closing with three pars for a 69. He finished eighth at tied and finished 129th. has a full card next year to be No. 1 on PGA Tour University, but his status won’t be as high.

McNealy, son of Sun Microsystems co-founder Scott McNealy, has done some of his best work outside the ropes, including changing the FedEx Cup points distribution to make it fairer.

A victory was missing, and it came down to the wire. He came out in 33 and led by two until the back nine, then it became a chore. He holed a 15-foot putt from the fringe on the 11th to stay in the lead, and saved par after going from bunker to bunker on the 13th.

But he missed a shot with an errant drive on the 14th, and when Echavarria birdied the 15th in front of him, McNealy was out of the lead for the first time all day. He responded at just the right moment, a 6-iron that covered the flagstick and settled just over 5 feet away.

The win puts him in three $20 million events in the first two months of the year, starting with The Sentry at Kapalua, as well as his first trip to Augusta National.

___

AP Golf: