31st Jul 2019 | Ellie Mae Classic
Ellie Mae Classic: Maverick McNealy
Ranked in top-20 on tour for driving distance and putting average and that's all you need at TPC Stonebrae. McNealy also have advantage of having played course before with finishes of 67-46.
The recipe for the Ellie Mae Classic is straightforward: driving it long and make putts. Last year’s champion Trevor Cone finished the season ranked 12th for driving distance and 28th for putting average. Go back further and the 2014 champion was Tony Finau.
Having established the type of player we want onside it’s a case of narrowing down a shortlist that contains Max Greyserman, Tyson Alexander, Davis Riley and Maverick McNealy. Of the quartet i’ve gone for the last named. He is perhaps the most recognisable name on the list having previously been the number one ranked amateur golfer in the world.
Last season he made 4/7 cuts on the PGA Tour and he is within touching distance of a tour card, sat 28th in the rankings on the Korn Ferry Tour. McNealy needs one more good week and TPC Stonebrae is the ideal course for him.
This will be the third time he’s played the course competitively with previous finishes of T67-T46 both of which could have been so much better but for one poor round in the mid-70s. Course experience is a rare advantage on the Korn Ferry Tour and on what that is suited to his game, McNealy should go well at 80/1 with SkyBet.
Odds correct at time of publishing: 05:20 31st Jul, 2019 but subject to change