PALM COAST, Florida – If you happened to walk into the Shadow Wood Country Club pro shop in Estero, Florida in January of 2006, you probably were greeted by two assistant pros who worked together for several months, catering to its 900 members, inside the esteemed private, gated, 54-hole golf community, one of southwest Florida’s finest.
Now, 20 years later both pros have advanced their golf careers and gone on to bigger and better things. Andrew Pletz is currently the wildly-popular head pro at Estero Country Country Club, where he oversees a membership of about 400 robust golfers, at the member-owned private club that was named No. 5 in the prestigious listing of 2022 Top Ranked Clubhouses.
If you follow professional golf at all, then you’ve heard the name George McNeill in many 19th hole conversations. If you follow senior professional golf a/k/a Champions Tour, then you know all about McNeill’s fabulous success story. To say George has done well since leaving the ranks of assistant club pro is putting it mildly. Let’s call what he has done this year on the golf course “amazing.” Or as one golf pundit put it he’s “living the dream.”
After turning 50 last October and qualifying for the 2026 Champions Tour, George McNeill has had a year in senior professional golf like no other. Well, check that, there is one other 50-year old who has played better. Zack Johnson, turned 50 in March and has won 5 times and is quite capable of tying the single-season record of 7 wins set by Bruce Fleisher in 1999.
Here are the 2026 numbers to-date for George McNeill – ‘the Champions Tour newest million dollar man’:
* 15 cuts made in 16 events (mostly no cut events)
* 12 top 25 finishes
* 9 top 10s
* 2 second place finishes
* 3rd place in U.S. Senior Open
* 5th driving distance at 297 yards
* 7th in Charles Schwab Cup points
* $258,746 highest pay check from U.S Senior Open
* $1,230,609 total official money earned
A tournament fast-approaching on the calendar for McNeill is the Constellation Furyk & Friends, where legends and rising stars of PGA TOUR Champions will compete in 54-hole stroke play event October 9-11 on The Ocean Course at Hammock Beach Golf Resort & Spa in Palm Coast, Florida. The star-studded field includes major champions Stewart Cink, Zack Johnson, John Daly, Bernhard Langer, Darren Clarke, Davis Love and Vijay Singh in the 78-player field offering a $2.2 million purse. https://constellationfurykandfriends.com/field/
This week tournament host and World Golf Hall of Famer Jim Furyk, owner of 17 PGA victories who also earned notoriety for his unorthodox golf swing, awarded McNeill a sponsor exemption.
“George has had an outstanding year, and his performance on PGA TOUR Champions speaks for itself. He’s playing some of the best golf on the Champions Tour, and when you look at where he is in the Charles Schwab Cup standings, the consistency he’s shown all season, and the quality of the players he’s competing against, it’s pretty impressive,” said Furyk and Friends Host Jim Furyk, who holds the record of 58, the lowest round ever shot on PGA Tour.
This is the sixth edition of the event, played five years at Timuquana Country Club in Jacksonville, Florida. Furyk & Friends received the 2025 Players Award, with PGA Tour Champions players voting this tournament as their favorite event. This event is now a multiple winner of the Players Award (2022). https://newengland.golf/pga-champions-tour-furyk-friends-tees-off-october-9-11/
“When we had the opportunity to recognize what George has accomplished this year with a sponsor exemption, it was an easy decision. Sitting seventh in the Charles Schwab Cup standings, George adds even more strength to what is already an impressive field at Constellation FURYK & FRIENDS. We’re thrilled to have a player of his caliber joining us at Hammock Beach, and we know our fans are going to enjoy watching him compete.”
All three rounds of the Furyk & Friends will be broadcast on Golf Channel, the exclusive cable provider of PGA TOUR Champions.
We talked with George from his home in Fort Myers where he is resting and practicing in an off week before the final 8 weeks of his impressive rookie season.
“Yes, worked with Andrew, he’s a great guy, had lots of fun with him and others I worked at Shadow Wood and The Forest CC,” McNeill said. “And I only worked for a total of about 7 months as a club pro. It was not for me. My mind was as a player, not in the service industry and dealing with members and their guests. I didn’t have the patience for that. Club pros are some of the most patient and caring people there are. Golf is only a piece of what they deal with on a daily basis. I was never thinking about the Champions Tour until I was 30 years old. I was thinking of the PGA Tour. This was 2005-2006. I won the Qualifying school in 2006 and played the PGA Tour for 10 straight years. Champions was still not on my mind then. As I moved through my 40’s is when Champions became more of a reality.”
The Naples native turns 51 on October 2 and knows the window of opportunity on the Champions Tour is between 50-55. What about exceeding his goals as a rookie?
“Have not exceeded my goals. Didn’t really have a certain goal starting out. I was just trying to get in as many tournaments as I could because I didn’t know how many starts I would get. I’ve played well for the most part but still haven’t won. It’d be nice to win before end of the season so that’s a goal now.”
McNeill has learned much from his years of practicing, scheduling and travel as life on Tour comes with wear and tear. So what was his biggest surprise of being part of Champions Tour 2026?
“It’s very competitive out here. Not a surprise though. All the players out here were really good on the PGA Tour. Zach has always been an amazing player. Wasn’t a shock to see him win and win a bunch. He’s a great iron player and putter. That’s what it takes to win and he does those things.”
Since the Furyk & Friends invitation arrived McNeill is looking forward to playing Hammock Beach, a course he has played well in the past.
“I’m happy about the sponsor invite but sort of expected it based on my year so far. I’ll continue to practice and work on my game. There’s always things to work on. Putting, wedge game, swing. It never ends.”
There are two more Champions Tour events before Furyk & Friends: The Pure Insurance Championship September 18-20 at Pebble Beach Golf Links and Jefferson Lehigh Valley Classic October 2-4 at Lehigh Country Club in Allentown, PA. Then three more tournaments before Charles Schwab Cup Championship November 12-15 at Phoenix Country Club in Phoenix, AZ.
https://constellationfurykandfriends.com/field/
https://www.pgatour.com/pgatour-champions/tournaments/2026/constellation-furyk-friends/S2026044
https://www.pgatour.com/pgatour-champions/player/24490/george-mcneill
