George McNeill Set to Make PGA TOUR Champions Debut in Front of a Hometown Crowd
By Doug Milne
NAPLES, Fla. – In addition to the competitive fire and talent which largely defines the success of the Champions Tour, equally compelling and attractive is the nostalgia factor for players and fans alike.
By and large, players who first set foot on the hallowed 50-and-older ground migrated from PGA TOUR turf. It’s then and there – on that big 5-0 birthday – when the prospect of a successful, extended career and new beginning, of sorts, takes shape.
At this week’s Chubb Classic presented by SERVPRO, Southwest Florida native George McNeill crosses the threshold to tee it up in his first-ever Champions Tour event.
Following his 50th birthday last October, the celebrated local has waited for this particular week for quite a while.
“They've had this tournament here for a long, long time,” McNeill said. “I've always watched and paid attention to the event, not knowing whether this was going to be my first start or not. Playing here in Naples at the Chubb Classic and seeing all the guys as I start my career out here on the Champions Tour is a great way to do it.”
In what added up to 324 career starts on the PGA TOUR, McNeill amassed a pair of victories: the 2007 Frys.com Open in Las Vegas and the 2012 Puerto Rico Open. Leading up to this week, McNeill competed in seven Korn Ferry Tour starts in 2025, along with six on the PGA TOUR.
“I feel pretty good. My plan the whole time was to keep playing to get competitive and competition ready for this,” McNeill said. “It's hard to just show up when you haven't played in a golf tournament in a long time. Last year on the Korn Ferry Tour and PGA TOUR was about getting ready and being competitive and tournament tough. We'll see when it comes Friday, but I feel like I'm ready to play.”
The last TOUR-sanctioned event McNeill played was The RSM Classic (MC).
“I've been working on it a lot for the last year and a half,” McNeill said. “I've been working hard to improve and make sure that I was ready when it was time to show up out here. I didn't want to just go through the motions and play because I was in the tournament. I want to actually compete. I wanted to be ready to play when it was time. So, we'll see what happens come Friday, but I feel like I'm in a good spot with my swing and putting and chipping and everything. Overall, I feel all right.”
In addition to the competitor in McNeill, the two-time TOUR winner – the sentimental side of McNeill is also a big factor this week.
“It's awesome,” he said. “Everybody has been more than welcoming, especially the guys I haven't seen in a long time,” he said. “I feel like I'm back at home almost. I am kind of at home being in Naples, but being back with all the guys on tour I know and recognize is good.”
Speaking of home, front and center this week for McNeill’s debut will be his family and friends.
“A lot of people…friends, family….all headed out,” he said. “I'm sure I'll see a lot of people I didn't even know were still hanging around. I'm getting text messages from everybody. Most of them are, like, ‘hey, you got tickets?’ Of course, you always get that.”
So, amid the nerves, attention he’ll no doubt get and other gray areas which come when charting new courses, McNeill is eager and excited. He’s encouraged by that prospect of a successful, extended career and new beginning set to get airborne this week.
“Once I get inside the ropes, that's my office, my area of expertise,” McNeill said. “Hopefully, I can block out all the outside noise and get back to basically playing tournament golf, which is what I do for a living. Hopefully that'll take over when it comes time. But, I know there's going to be plenty of people here, friends, family, everything. I’ll see them, whether it's in between holes or whatever…and I'll say ‘hi’, but at the end of the day, this is my job. This is my work. This is my office. So, I'm trying to just do that.”
