Did Maverick McNealy pilot his own jet to the Genesis Invitational?

Maverick McNealy flew himself in a plane to San Diego on Thursday for the 2025 Genesis Invitational. The American golfer learned to fly while he was away from the greens due to an injury in 2023.

For last week's event, he flew for the first time in a Cirrus SR22 single-engine piston prop plane. He had a flight instructor, who provided him instructions throughout the journey to help him.

McNealy's wife, Maya, opened up about the golfer's love for flying a plane in an interview with the PGA Tour. She said (via Golf Week):

"He is watching airplane videos any time he doesn’t have a golf club in his hand. I don’t know how he has the time or the mental patience to get better at both things consistently … but he’s one of the most determined people I know.”

Maverick McNealy had a phenomenal outing at the recently concluded Genesis Invitational. He started his 2025 PGA Tour season at The Sentry, where he played four rounds of 68, 64, 69, and 68 and tied for eighth place.

He then played at the Sony Open in Hawaii, finishing in T45 place. He recorded T52 place at the Farmers Insurance Open T40 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and then T9 at the WM Phoenix Open before finishing solo second at the Genesis Invitational.

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Maverick McNealy opens up about his performance at the 2025 Genesis Invitational

Maverick McNealy started off his outing at the 2025 Genesis Invitational with a round of 75. He struggled in the first two rounds of the PGA Tour event, playing the second round of 70. He then had an amazing outing in the next two rounds, playing a round of 68 and then 64 in the final round.

Maverick McNealy was phenomenal in the final round of the Genesis Invitational. He started the outing on the first tee hole and then made five back-to-back birdies and another birdie on the ninth hole. He made three birdies and a bogey on the back nine for a round of 8 under 64, finishing just one stroke behind the winner, Ludvig Åberg.

During the press conference of the tournament, McNealy reflected on his performance and said (via Tee Scripts):

"9 under through 13 on this golf course, I'm pretty proud of that. You know, a few golf swings I'd like to have back. You know, hit it off a post on 17. I was actually trying to hit it over in the right matted down area where we made birdie from on Friday and ended up in an unlucky spot, but that's golf.

"And I'm really proud of my effort, especially being outside the cutline through 27 holes. Had to play through that sideways rain in the back of the wave on Thursday and to give myself this opportunity, I'm really proud of that," he added.

Meanwhile, Ludvig Åberg played a round of 66 in the final round of the Genesis Invitational and jumped two spots on the leaderboard to win his second PGA Tour event. Scottie Scheffler settled in a tie for third place with Patrick Rodgers at 9-under.