‘I’m sorry to hear that: ‘Pro’s bird causes 2 friends to lose PGA Tour tickets

On Sunday at the PGA Tour’s season-ending RSM Classic, some players achieved their PGA Tour card dreams, while others fell devastatingly short. Max McGreevy is fortunately part of the first group, but his great play on Sunday was also responsible for two fellow pros losing their PGA Tour cards.

With one empty putt on the final hole, McGreevy secured extra status for 2026 and sent pros Ricky Castillo and Lee Hodges on more treacherous career paths. After his round, McGreevy talked about the difficult reality that his success led to his friends’ failure.

Here’s what you need to know.

Max McGreevy’s birdie finish comes with a big PGA Tour reward

The tournament starts at 89th place in the FedEx Fall RankingsMcGreevy first had to avoid falling out of the top 100 and losing his full PGA Tour status for 2026. He accomplished that with rounds of 64-67-66 over the first three days at Sea Island.

But there was still something big to play for on Sunday. If McGreevy can reach the top 60 of the FedEx Fall standings, he would earn invitations to the first two Signature Events of 2026, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and Genesis Invitational.

When McGreevy arrived at the par-4 18th hole on Sunday, he was six under that day and had an unblemished scorecard. He needed a birdie to achieve his goal, and he got it.

The 30-year-old pro’s approach shot gave him a long 29-footer for birdie, but he took advantage of it to shoot a 63 and finish solo in second place. The finish, McGreevy’s best of the season, put him right at 60th in the FedEx Fall standings, earning him tee times at the big events at Pebble Beach and Riviera next year.

After his round, McGreevy admitted that his clutch putt on 18 “will rank pretty high up there” in terms of the best putts of his career. He compared it to an 18-footer he made last season to win a Korn Ferry Tour event.

“Same kind of emotions. It’s nervousness, but it’s giddy nervousness, it’s what you want,” McGreevy explained. “Luckily I was able to play a good role and the cards fell in my favor.”

McGreevy regrets knocking fellow pros out of the PGA Tour Top 100

While McGreevy needed his putt on 18 to fall to get into the top 60, Castillo and Hodges needed him to miss.

Castillo, a 24-year-old rookie, started the week ranked 135th in the FedEx Fall standings. Then he came into contention heading into Sunday. With one round remaining, he needed to finish T2 or better to break into the top 100 and secure his full 2026 PGA Tour card.

The night before he had decided that a Sunday 62 would have to be recorded for this. Incredibly, he did. Castillo made seven birdies on the front nine and added two more on the back to finish with an eight-under 62. At the time, that put him right where he needed to be: T2 with McGreevy.

But McGreevy’s subsequent birdie on 18 moved him to 22 under and solo second, relegating Castillo to a solo third place and leaving him 102nd in the FedEx Fall standings, just below the top 100 and a full PGA Tour card.

Hodges started the tournament ranked 122nd in the rankings. On the final round alongside McGreevy, he had his own crucial birdie putt on 18 from just under 10 feet. If McGreevy had missed his long birdie and Hodges had made his, Hodges likely would have finished in the top 100.

But the opposite happened: Lee received a T4 and dropped to 101st in the FedEx Fall standings, making him the official bubble boy.

In addition to the relief and pride McGreevy expressed during his post-round press conference at the RSM, he also expressed regret for causing Castillo and Hodges to lose their cards.

“I hate to hear that I was the one who did that,” McGreevy revealed on Sunday night.

He then praised Castillo.

“Great for Ricky [Castillo]… He has to come out today and shoot 62 to even give himself a chance, and he does. I don’t know if I’ve played with Ricky once this year, but I know how talented he is. Regardless of where he finishes, he will be back here and have more opportunities on the PGA Tour,” said McGreevy.

As for Hodges, McGreevy called him a friend and revealed he was looking for Hodges to make his birdie putt on 18 despite competing against him.

“I play together with Lee [Hodges]who is one of my good friends. We got together on the PGA Tour in ’21 and I care as much for him to make that putt as I do for myself to make that putt.”

He continued, “It’s little successes and defeats. Whether it’s a loss to Ricky or Lee or something like that, they’ve both still played great rounds, given themselves that opportunity, and all they can rely on is giving themselves a chance, and they’ve done that. Hopefully both guys, Ricky and Lee, can take care of business at Q-School or next year, with definitely some starts and yeah, some good golf.”

As McGreevy noted, all is not lost for Castillo and Hodges. By finishing in the top 150, they automatically earn spots in the upcoming Final Stage of PGA Tour Q-School, which will help them earn their PGA Tour cards.

In addition, they will both receive conditional Tour status for 2026, allowing them to play more than 20 tournaments.

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