Jet lag no problem for Maverick McNealy at Barracuda

TRUCKEE, Calif. – Maverick McNealy’s first order of business upon waking up at 4 a.m. Wednesday?

He went for a swim.

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The third-year PGA TOUR pro was fresh off a T16 at the Genesis Scottish Open and an eight-hour time change to the Reno-Tahoe region into this week’s Barracuda Championship. Comfortably standing No. 32 on the FedExCup, McNealy would not have been blamed in taking a week off and resting up for the stretch run into the Playoffs.

Despite the sting of not qualifying for The 150th Open at St. Andrews, though, McNealy had plenty of reasons to remain motivated into this week. He’s eyeing a trip to East Lake for the TOUR Championship, which would ensure a spot in three of four 2023 major championships, at minimum. He wants to make a summer push for a spot on the United States’ Presidents Cup team; he currently ranks No. 20 on the standings.

This week also marks a family reunion of sorts, as the San Francisco Bay Area native is sharing a lakeside cabin in nearby Incline Village, Nevada with his parents and three brothers, Dakota, Colt and Scout (all four siblings are named after American cars). They’ve frequently vacationed in the region, which McNealy describes as “my favorite place in the world.”

McNealy has recorded a pair of TOUR runner-up finishes in his career, and he aims this week for one spot better. The 26-year-old has opened the Barracuda Championship with 11 points in the Modified Stableford scoring format, near the top of the Round 1 leaderboard in Truckee. He made four birdies and an eagle Thursday against two bogeys; this format awards 5 points for an eagle, 2 points for a birdie and deducts 1 point per bogey. (3 points are deducted for a double bogey or worse.)

The points breakdown means eagles are more impactful at the Barracuda Championship than at a standard TOUR event. McNealy took advantage on the par-4 fifth hole at Old Greenwood, his 14th hole Thursday, as he holed out a pitching wedge from 151 yards.

After narrowly missing a spot at The Open (finishing the Genesis Scottish Open two strokes back of a spot at St. Andrews via the Open Qualifying Series), McNealy is playing with a unique purpose this week, and the early returns are strong.

“I’m here because I’m really disappointed I’m not in The Open Championship,” McNealy said. “I’ve made the BMW Championship (as top-70 in the FedExCup) the last two years; 32nd on the (current) FedExCup; I’ve played two of 12 majors in a three-year stretch. That really motivates me to make sure that doesn’t happen again, that I don’t miss another major next year.

“This is a chance to win a golf tournament, this is a chance to win FedExCup points, this is a chance to get me closer to the Presidents Cup team. I love this golf course, I love this area, and I’m really, really motivated to make East Lake (for the TOUR Championship) and not miss any more major championships.”

McNealy’s sentiments are corroborated with his early-week efforts in traveling to California. After a final-round 67 at Renaissance Club, he caught a 10:30 a.m. flight from Scotland on Monday morning with a connection at Chicago O’Hare. An originally planned seven-hour layover was extended to 10 hours due to a flight delay. He slept on the four-hour plane ride to Reno, touched down at 1:15 a.m. local time Tuesday and arrived at the cabin at 2:30 a.m.

It felt like 10:30 a.m. in Scotland, so he wasn’t quite ready to fall asleep. He did laundry, took a two-hour nap and then headed to Old Greenwood for nine holes.

The week prior to the Genesis Scottish Open, McNealy finished T8 at the John Deere Classic in the Quad Cities. He flew six hours ahead for a week in Scotland, then eight hours back for this week in Truckee.

McNealy learned a variety of shots and visuals in preparation for links golf. Returning to his home region, he likens the adjustment to “coming from Spanish class to speaking English in the hallway.”

Comfortable terrain also helps for the Bay Area native who now resides in Las Vegas – and he notes that when it comes to a time change, it’s better to move backward than forward.

“I woke up at 3:45 (a.m.), 15 minutes before my alarm this morning,” said McNealy after his round Thursday. “I was just wide awake. I don’t even need caffeine, which is great. I’m definitely going to hit a wall around 7:00, so I might take a nap this afternoon and see if I can actually stay awake until 8:30 tonight.”

Perhaps for an evening swim, as well.