“Just really able to fully focus” - Maverick McNealy eyes his first PGA Tour win

Maverick McNealy had a very impressive first round at the Sony Open in Hawaii. He was tied for third after scoring at 4 under along with Kramer Hickok, Brendan Steele, Harris English, and K.J. Choi.

After the first round, McNealy is in a great position to take a shot at his first Tour title.

Not only that, McNealy is 'not too many hours' away from getting a pilot's license. After the first round, McNealy told reporters that he felt as if he's 'firing on all cylinders'. This can be taken quite literally in his case.

"Just really able to fully focus on the things I want to do and the people I want to spend time with, and just been super calm, peaceful, fun, productive, focused off-season. Just had a great time at home," said the 27-year-old.

McNealy added that having a passion outside the golf course has helped him improve overall.

This season could be a turning point for McNealy as he has already had a couple of top 10 finishes and stands at 34 in the FedEx Cup, better than his career best 38.

"Dialing in on-course nutrition and just everything. Looking at sleep, how do I sleep better and optimize the rest/recovery so I could push myself hard during the day. There is just a lot of aspects. Just trying to find that one percent everywhere I look," McNealy said on the improvements he's trying to bring in himself.

After Round 1 at Waialae Country Club, Jordan Spieth and Chris Kirk were tied for 1st with a score of 6 under, followed by Doc Redman, Stewart Cink, J.J. Spaun, and Harry Hall tied for 8th at 3 under before the game was suspended due to bad light.

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McNealy, heir of $1 billion on making his own name

Maverick McNealy with his father Scott McNealy

Maverick McNealy is a hardworking professional. Although he hasn't had success on the PGA Tour yet, he is consistently working towards it. If he wanted, he could have avoided going through this hardship. His father Scott McNealy is the co-founder of Sun Microsystems, which was acquired by the Oracle Corporation in 2009 for $7.4 billion. His net worth is more than $1 billion.

McNealy wasn't treated like a prince though. As per Maverick, his mom was very strict. Just like other parents, she wanted him to get good marks and do homework before going to play.

"'Good grades, good attitude, good effort' is her mantra. Bad grades meant taking away my golf and hockey gear," McNealy told Golf Digest in 2018.

Maverick said he didn't get anything easy. He never got an allowance from the family and had to pay the rent to the family if he didn't get the job after graduation. However, he was good in the game of golf while growing up, which helped.

McNealy has earned only $7 million in his three years as a professional. However, money is not something that he wants to be remembered for.

“I don’t judge my success in golf by how much money I’ve made; I judge it by my effort and commitment,” he told Golf Digest.