Max McGreevy gives up title defense in Japan to make sure he gets PGA Tour card

NAPLES, Fla. (AP) — Max McGreevy has won five times since leaving Oklahoma, and he’s been able to defend his title at only one of them. This week marks another such occasion, but for good reason.

McGreevy last year locked up his PGA Tour card with two wins on the Korn Ferry Tour. He went to Japan in November and won the Dunlop Phoenix by four shots over a group that included Hideki Matsuyama. But when Japan Golf Tour officials called to see if would be back, McGreevy was at No. 100 in the FedEx Cup with two tournaments left to secure his card.

“Cutting it too close,” McGreevy said, mostly referring to the travel window, but there also was that small matter of trying to keep his PGA Tour card for 2026.

In the Bermuda Championship last week, McGreevy closed with a hard-earned 72 in a brutal wind on Sunday to tie for third. He moved to No. 89 in the FedEx Cup and is a lock to keep his card.

It’s part of an impressive fall for McGreevy, one in which he never stressed about being on the bubble but rather waited “for something to pop.”

The idea was to just keep playing because McGreevy has a history with that. He won his first Korn Ferry Tour event last year playing his seventh straight tournament. He won another later that year playing for the fifth time in six weeks.

So even with his PGA Tour card on the line — he was at No. 104 after his tie for 33rd in the Baycurrent Classic in Japan — he stayed another week to play the Japan Open (tie for 12th), then headed straight to Utah and tied for 11th.

“I honestly feel like I play better when I keep playing,” he said. “That first week back after a week off, the body is rested but my mind is not ready to get into competition. It was definitely weird to get all the way from Japan to Utah. But you gain half a day going in that direction. I didn’t mind.

“And to play the Japan Open, that was kind of a bucket list.”

He flew to Jacksonville on Monday and was headed up to Sea Island for the RSM Classic, his sixth start in a seven-week stretch that took him to Japan, Utah, Mexico, Bermuda and Georgia.

“It’s stressful,” he said of trying to keep his card in the fall. “But you’re just looking to play good golf. My game felt good. I was waiting for something to pop off and if it didn’t, I’d go back to the Korn Ferry Tour and get my card again. Luckily it came, just a little later than I would have liked.”

The only time McGreevy returned to defend a title was the Price Cutter Championship on the Korn Ferry Tour that he won in 2020 and had Korn Ferry status the next year. He also won a PGA Tour China series event in 2019. And he didn’t defend his two Korn Ferry titles from 2024 because he had made it to the PGA Tour.

Stenson return

Henrik Stenson gave up the Ryder Cup captaincy when he chose to join Saudi-funded LIV Golf in 2022. Now the Swede is headed back to the European tour.

The British golf website bunkered.co.uk first reported that Stenson is paying his outstanding fines to the European tour and is eligible to return. Sports Illustrated reported that the former British Open champion would be playing out of the Legends category.

Stenson joined LIV as one of three captains for the Majesticks in July 2022. He won a LIV Golf event at Trump Bedminster after joining. But this year, he fell to No. 52 on the points list and was relegated out of the lead. His only way back was through a promotions event that will offer two spots for 2026.

Stenson resigned his European tour membership in 2023 after a U.K. arbitration panel ruled in favor of the tour handing out fines and suspension for anyone playing in a conflicting event without getting a release.

Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton, who played in the Ryder Cup this year, have appealed their fines. That has yet to be resolved.

Masters on the mind

Johnny Keefer received a sponsor exemption to the RSM Classic, which gives him another chance at securing a Masters invitation. He comes into the week at No. 50 in the world.

The RSM Classic is the final event of the PGA Tour season, but there are still tournaments to be held in Australia and South Africa by the end of the year that could affect the top 50.

Keefer isn’t alone. Daniel Berger (No. 53) and J.T. Poston (No. 54) also are at Sea Island with a chance to move into the top 50 with a top finish. Also playing the PGA Tour finale are Sam Stevens (No. 48) and Ryan Gerard (No. 49).

Stevens was at No. 45 after the BMW Championship in August, but he has two missed cuts and a tie for 36th in the three FedEx Cup Fall events he has played.

The Masters no longer offers an invitation to the PGA Tour winners in the fall. If a player doesn’t make the top 50, he still has three months of the 2026 season before another top 50 cutoff.

Kupcho’s big payoff

Jennifer Kupcho has played in 22 tournaments on the LPGA Tour this year and made $1,112,194. She nearly doubled that with a big bonus after The Annika last week.

Kupcho won $1 million from the Aon Risk-Reward Challenge, a season competition that measures how a player performs on a risk-reward hole, typically a par 5. The best two scores from the designated hole count toward the cumulative score to par.

“I think I was stressing about it really like the last three weeks,” she said.

Kupcho, the runner-up to Linn Grant at Pelican Golf Club, made birdie on the par-5 14th in the opening round, and then holed a 60-foot eagle putt on Friday from the front of the green.

“Really on all par 5s I am kind of in the nature of just send it and see what happens,” she said. “I certainly was that way all week with that hole, but I think it’s just trying to get up there as close as possible. It’s a really hard hole, really hard hole to eagle honestly. So to be able to have thrown one in is pretty sweet.”

Divots

The R&A says the British Open at Royal Portrush this year generated just over 280 million pounds ($370 million) in economic benefit for Northern Ireland. It said global media exposure was worth 191 million pounds ($251 million) in a “destination marketing benefit.” … Miyuu Yamashita of Japan has clinched LPGA rookie of the year. The Women’s British Open champion remains in the running for LPGA player of the year at the CME Group Tour Championship. … Former NCAA champion Fred Biondi of Brazil was an alternate for Q-school on the European tour, got in and earned one of 20 cards for the 2025-26 season. Biondi turned pro in 2023 without taking his Masters invitation for winning the NCAA when he was at Florida. … Former U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland will make his debut in the PNC Championship next month. Nelly Korda will be returning for a fifth time. Three spots are still to be filled.

Stat of the week

Nelly Korda and Hye-Jin Choi each went over $2 million in LPGA earnings this year without winning a tournament.

Final word

“I’m not worried about the Americans.” — Angela Stanford, the U.S. Solheim Cup captain. Only three Americans have won on the LPGA this year, none since June.

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf