In final moments of RSM, bubbles burst for Lee Hodges, Ricky Castillo

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – For once, Max McGreevy wasn’t the one holding his breath. The 30-year-old from Edmond, Oklahoma, had spent most of the past six months on the FedExCup bubble, but after tying for third last week in Bermuda, he was afforded house money to chase his first victory at the RSM Classic.

As McGreevy stood over his 30-foot birdie putt on Sea Island’s par-4 finishing hole on Sunday afternoon, within striking distance of leader Sami Valimaki, the tension had instead manifested in competitors Ricky Castillo and Lee Hodges. The former watched from the clubhouse while the latter shared the green with McGreevy, staring down a crucial birdie putt of his own.

Castillo, the 24-year-old rookie out of the University of Florida, had just fired an 8-under 62, but if McGreevy made, it wouldn’t be enough for Castillo to crack the top 100 in points and retain full membership for 2026. Hodges needed to break out of a logjam for fourth, otherwise he’d be joining Castillo as a conditional member next year.

McGreevy prefers a singular thought when he swings back the putter, and the focus this week has been to keep his head still.

“When I get under pressure, I feel like I kind of move back as the putt’s going on,” explained McGreevy, who gained over two shots on the greens in his final round.

Even as the wind picked up late, McGreevy stood firm on that last green. He put a nice stroke on his ball, then watched it track toward the hole.

With McGreevy’s ball in motion, Castillo’s fate hung in the balance. It had been a year of narrow disappointments for Castillo, who missed eight cuts by a single shot, three of those coming during a four-MC streak entering the RSM. Now, he was potentially about to lose his card by the same, tiny margin. And yet, Castillo was surprisingly calm, like he’d been all week at a place where he’d won an SEC Championship his senior year with the Gators.

“Honestly, I really didn’t feel much pressure,” Castillo said. “It was kind of like I really didn’t have anything to lose.”

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Florida head coach J.C. Deacon texted Castillo on Saturday night, telling his former player that there was no player he’d rather have the ball in their hands. Derek Castillo, Ricky’s older brother and caddie, agreed after witnessing his little brother hit his first few warmup shots on Sunday morning. High winds in Bermuda had thrown Ricky’s swing off kilter, but as Ricky marched toward the first tee, he turned to Derek and said, “This is the best my swing has felt all week.”

Ricky Castillo didn’t say much on Sunday. Bryan Kopsick, looper for Castillo’s playing competitor Jonathan Byrd, noted during the final round, “I’ve never seen a kid so zoned in.”

“When he’s feeling confident, he can get in the zone and he just kind of goes,” said Derek Castillo.

And boy, did he go on Sunday, going out in a scorching 7-under 28. His only blemish was a tough one, a missed 2-footer for par to complete at three-putt at the par-3 12th, but he responded with a two-putt birdie at the par-5 15th and 32-foot birdie make at the par-4 16th. He gave himself 20 feet for 61 at the last before settling for a 10-under 62.

“I just felt like I had a good idea of what I was going to do today and just come out and just play the best I could,” Castillo said.

Not even an hour later, though, McGreevy’s ball disappeared into the 18th hole – and with it, Castillo’s hopes. As McGreevy celebrated with an emphatic fist pump, Castillo, whose golf bag had been set up on the driving range in case he was needed for a playoff, simultaneously headed to the parking lot. He then spent several minutes unloading his belongings, including his fishing gear, from his courtesy SUV and into a much smaller car to make the drive home to Jacksonville, Florida. He was proud to have notched his best career finish, a solo third; he just wouldn’t be returning with his PGA Tour card, as McGreevy’s birdie knocked him from a projected No. 95 in points to No. 102.

“It’s just been one of those years where it’s been really close,” Castillo said. “It could have been really good, but it hasn’t really clicked. Finally clicked this week.”

Castillo will have one last chance to garner fully exempt status on the PGA Tour for 2026. He’ll be eligible for the final stage of PGA Tour Q-School in a few weeks. If not, he’ll likely still receive plenty of starts in a conditional category, Nos. 101-110, that doesn’t reshuffle and is projected to warrant upwards of 20 starts.

Same goes for Hodges, who holed two birdie putts from outside 20 feet on the back nine but couldn’t capitalize from 10 feet on the last. The 30-year-old Alabama product, who finished top 50 in points two seasons ago, ended in a three-way tie for fourth, which cemented him No. 101 in points – by approximately two points – and up 11 spots from last week. After cracking a rib earlier this year, Hodges believes he’ll get four starts via a medical extension, though that would be prioritized below Nos. 101-110.

The solace of likely starts didn’t lessen the immediate sting, however, as Hodges’ closing miss caused him to double over while pushing the brim of his hat down over his face. Minutes later, in the flash area, he was already holding a cracked-open can of Coors light in his right hand.

“My agents have been telling me if you finish inside the top 111, you’re going to really like where you are,” Hodges said, “so 101, I guess, is all right after the s--- year – sorry, after the bad year I had this year.”

He was forgiven.

With McGreevy’s late heroics, no players moved inside the top 100 this week. In fact, Nos. 95-100 remained unchanged. And when it comes to the top 125, the cutoff between two conditional groups with drastically different outlooks, only Seamus Power moved in, from No. 129 to No. 117, while Frankie Capan III, who missed the RSM cut, dropped out.

McGreevy, whose one-shot runner-up to Valimaki bumped Jordan Spieth from the Aon Next 10 (and two signature-event starts next year), was later informed what his final putt meant for Castillo and his closing 63 for Hodges, a close friend whom he shared a rookie season with a few years ago.

“I hate to hear that, that I was the one that did that,” McGreevy said. “I’m playing alongside Lee … and I’m pulling for him to make that putt just as much as I was for myself to make that putt. It’s little successes and defeats, whether it’s a defeat to Ricky or Lee or something like that, they both still played great rounds, gave themself that chance, and that’s all they can rely on is to give themself an opportunity, and they did.

“Hopefully, both those guys, Ricky and Lee, can take care of business either at Q-School or next year with some starts.”