A superstitious tour winner recommends a touching touch to grandma

PGA Tour veteran Maverick McNealy finally pulled off his first PGA Tour win on Sunday at the 2024 RSM Classic, and it was a family affair for the 29-year-old.

After snapping his 140-game winning streak with a clutch birdie on the 18th hole at Sea Island’s Seaside Course, McNealy hugged his wife, Maya Daniels, on the green and both were overwhelmed.

Soon after, Maya had a prearranged mission to accomplish: get McNealy’s parents on the phone ASAP.

“My mother and father are watching at home, they are all happy. It was my first call,” McNealy said after his round. “Maya knew her job, if it went well today, to get them on the phone as soon as possible when I left at the age of 18. I’m the luckiest man of all.”

Maya came through in the clutch, connecting two parents who “normally didn’t believe” in their son in the big moment of his seven years.

The call didn’t go far, however, with McNealy admitting that the main topic of conversation was his emotional mother.

“We used to make fun of Mom because she was crying,” McNealy joked.

But even though Maya, mom and dad shared this time with him, McNealy was missing one important family member, who might be his biggest fan: his grandmother.

When the reporter said he heard that McNealy’s grandmother was too scared to watch his last putt, the coach shared that although he hasn’t spoken to her yet, she has been a constant source of success throughout his career. Then he brought up a long-standing tradition: Every time McNealy has a big payday, he sends his grandmother flowers. And the better his finishing, the better the gifts of grandma.

“I had a deal from my days on the Korn Ferry Tour where if I made $50,000 in a given week, I had to send him flowers,” McNealy said. “He doesn’t seem to have a problem with the fact that that happens more with PGA Tour purses than on the Korn Ferry Tour. It’s kind of his bragging rights next to the retirement home. Then the top ten get a chocolate.”

McNealy stuck to the topic, explaining how important his golf career was to his grandmother:

“He is my biggest fan. You know, I know that watching my golf in many ways keeps him going, it gives him something to look forward to until he won’t let people talk to him when he’s watching me play. It’s very special.”

But this player who recently won the PGA Tour also revealed that he knows that he must go along with the gifts, because if he doesn’t do that, bad things will start happening in his life.

“Grandma is a witch,” he said jokingly. “When I forget to send her flowers, strange things happen. Food poisoning, clubs exploding, balls exploding, it’s the weirdest thing ever, so I have to live with that.”

With that revelation, McNealy seemed to realize that his victory at the RSM Classic, the biggest achievement of his career to date, will require more gifts from his grandmother than usual, at least to avoid any negative consequences for the coming season.

“Maybe I should get him something special,” she said.