Pro’s birdie causes two to lose PGA Tour cards: ‘Don’t want to hear this’

Some players achieved their PGA Tour card dreams Sunday at the PGA Tour season-ending RSM Classic, while others failed miserably. Max McGreevy was happy to be in the front group, but his stellar performance on Sunday also cost two pros their PGA Tour cards.

McGreevey drained a shot on the final hole to earn an extra spot for 2026 and set pros Ricky Castillo and Lee Hodges on a more dangerous career path. After the game, McGreevey opened up about the difficult reality that his success led to the failure of his friends.

Here’s what you need to know.

Max McGreevy’s birdie results in huge PGA Tour bonus

McGreevey, who starts the tournament ranked 89th in the FedEx Fall Season standings, first needs to avoid falling out of the top 100 and losing full eligibility for the 2026 PGA Tour. He accomplished that with scores of 64-67-66 in his first three days on the island.

But there’s still important things to do on Sunday. If McGreevey can finish in the top 60 in the FedEx Fall Series standings, he will earn invitations to the first two signature events of 2026, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Genesis Invitational.

When McGreevey arrived at the par-4 18th hole on Sunday, he was 6 under for the day and had a flawless scorecard. He needed a birdie to achieve his goal, and he got it.

The 30-year-old pro’s approach shot led to a 29-foot birdie, but he ended up finishing second with a 63. It was McGreevey’s best finish of the season, moving him into 60th place in the FedEx Fall Season standings, giving him a chance to compete in next year’s major events at Pebble Beach and Riviera.

After the round, McGreevey admitted that his clutch putt on the 18th hole would be “right up there” in terms of the best putts of his career. He compared it to the 18-footer he hit last season to win the Korn Ferry Tour.

“It’s the same emotion. It’s nerves, but it’s giddy nerves, and that’s what you want,” McGreevy explained. “Luckily, I had a bit of luck and the cards were in my favor.”

McGreevey laments knocking other pros out of PGA Tour top 100

McGreevey needed to drop a putt on No. 18 to crack the top 60, while Castillo and Hodges needed to miss the shot.

Castillo is a 24-year-old rookie ranked No. 135 on the FedEx Fall Rankings this week. Then he got into controversy during Sunday’s game. With one round left, he needs to finish in a tie for second or better to crack the top 100 and earn full eligibility for the 2026 PGA Tour.

The night before, he decided he needed to shoot Sunday’s 62. Incredibly, he did it. Castillo had seven birdies on the front nine and two more on the back nine, finishing with a 62, 8 under. At the time, that got him where he needed to be, tied for second with McGreevey.

But McGreevey followed with a birdie on No. 18 to move him to 22 under for second place, relegating Castillo to third place and leaving him 102nd in the FedEx Fall standings, one step away from the top 100 and a full PGA Tour card.

Hodges started the race in 122nd place in points. Playing the final round with McGreevey, he made a crucial birdie putt from less than 10 feet on the 18th hole. If McGreevey missed his long birdie and Hodges made his, Hodges would likely be in the top 100.

But the opposite happened, and Lee earned a T4 and dropped to No. 101 in the FedEx Fall Rankings, making him an official bubble boy.

As well as expressing relief and pride at RSM’s post-match press conference, McGreevey also expressed remorse for causing Castillo and Hodges to lose cards.

“I hate hearing that’s what I did,” McGreevy revealed Sunday night.

He then went on to heap praise on Castillo.

“Great for Ricky. [Castillo]… He had to go out and shoot 62 today to give himself a chance, and he did. I don’t know if I’ve played with Ricky this year, but I know how much talent he has. Whatever he accomplishes, he’s going to come back here and get more opportunities on the PGA Tour,” McGreevey said.

As for Hodges, McGreevey called him a friend and revealed that he supported Hodges’ birdie putt on the 18th hole despite competing against him.

“I played with Lee. [Hodges]he is one of my good friends. We were on the PGA Tour together in ’21 and I wanted him to make that putt as much as I wanted myself to make that putt. “

He continued: “It’s nothing hit and miss. Whether it’s losing to Ricky or Lee or anything like that, they still played a great game and gave themselves that chance and all they could rely on was giving themselves a chance and they did. Hopefully those two, Ricky and Lee, can take care of business at Q-School or next year and definitely have some starts and, yeah, play good golf.”

As McGreevy points out, all is not lost for Castillo and Hodges. By finishing in the top 150, they will automatically earn a spot at the upcoming PGA Tour Qualifying School finals, through which they can earn a PGA Tour card.

In addition, they will both receive conditional Tour status in 2026, where they will compete in more than 20 tournaments.

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