Family means everything to Maverick McNealy, which helps explain why he recently hired his brother, Scout, to become his full-time caddie.
But nobody cheers harder for McNealy than his grandmother, with whom he has had a special “deal” with ever since turning professional some eight years ago.
“I have had a deal [with her] since my days on the Korn Ferry Tour where if I make $50,000 in a given week, I had to send her flowers,” McNealy explained.
“She doesn’t seem to mind that that happens a lot more with PGA Tour purses than on the Korn Ferry Tour. It’s kind of her bragging rights [for her] around the retirement home. Then top-10s she gets chocolates as well.”
After 18 career top-10 finishes—or 18 boxes of chocolate with flowers for grandma—McNealy finally broke through at the RSM Classic this past week. The win gave him his first PGA Tour victory, as a clutch approach on the final hole helped him emerge victorious by one.
But what will McNealy give his grandmother for winning?
“I think she would like [the trophy] on her mantlepiece, to be honest,” McNealy added.
“Yeah, I don’t know, she loves us and we love her. There’s nobody that watches my shots more closely than she does.”
With the season now over, McNealy has plenty of time to figure out what to do for his beloved grandmother. But he has to do something. Whenever he forgets to do so, troubling circumstances arise.
“My grandma’s a witch,” McNealy joked.
“If I forget to send her flowers, weird things happen. Food poisoning, clubs snap, balls crack, it’s the weirdest stuff ever, so I’ve got to stay on that. I should probably get her something a little extra special for winning.”
Whatever McNealy will gift her, it will no doubt mean the world. The relationship that he has with his grandmother is quite special, and it’s something McNealy understands, which is quite wholesome in and of itself.
“I know that her watching my golf in a lot of ways keeps her going, gives her something to look forward to to the point where she won’t let people talk to her when she’s watching me play,” McNealy said.
“It’s pretty special.”
Indeed it is.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
