Maverick McNealy's scramble to make FedEx Cup Playoffs on hold due to left shoulder injury

Ranking 87th in the FedEx Cup standings, Maverick McNealy has some work to do to get into the top 70 and qualify for the Playoffs come August. But any late regular-season rally is now on hold after the 27-year-old former college player of the year at Stanford announced via Instagram that he’s stepping away from the game to address his injury left shoulder.

McNealy acknowledged he’s been dealing with a torn ligament in his shoulder since the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February. He withdrew from that event mid-tournament, as well as the Waste Management Open the next week. Since then, he has played nine times on tour with his best finish being a T-36 at the Valspar Championship. And in his last four starts, he’s missed three cuts.

Despite his injury issues, McNealy ranks first on tour in strokes gained/putting.

The good news is that McNealy says the injury won’t require surgery, but is being address with extensive rehab techniques that he believes will allow him to return in the fall.

“We are attacking the problem,” he explained, “with physical therapy, biomechanics analysis, golf swing changes and regenerative stem-cell treatments.”

If he were to return and play in the events now listed as part of the Fall XXX, McNealy could keep his tour card for 2024 by maintaining his spot inside the top 125 of the points standings through the RSM Classic in November.

In the meantime, McNealy also said that he’ll be working on off-the-course projects to take advantage of the time off, specifically “pursing my pilot’s instrument rating.”