By Kevin Casey
Ryan McCormick, 34, is a professional golfer from New Jersey who turned pro in 2014. As an amateur, he won the 2012 Met Amateur at Hollywood Golf Club, the New Jersey Amateur at Baltusrol Golf Club, and the 2013 Cobra Puma Invitational while at St. John’s University. After earning his 2024 PGA Tour card through the Korn Ferry Tour, McCormick is again competing primarily on that circuit as he works to regain full PGA Tour status.
I can’t speak for Max or Chris – we came up through the ranks a little differently – but playing high school and college golf in the Northeast was tough. The weather alone put us way behind players from other parts of the country. It took even more perseverance to develop our games. Keegan Bradley (note: a fellow St. John’s alumnus) once told me that no one understands what those of us from up here have been through to make it on tour. Not many of us from the Northeast have succeeded. That’s why I’m really proud to represent the MGA and New Jersey on tour. It’s taken a lot to get this far.
My biggest amateur win was the 2012 Met Amateur at Hollywood, but the MGA Carter Cup at Baltusrol was my favorite event growing up. I circled that event on my calendar every year. To be treated like a first-class member for the day at one of the finest clubs in the country and get to play 36 holes from sunup to sundown – it was all you could ever want in a day of golf.
The U.S. Open has always been my favorite major. I’d never miss watching it. Add to that, my dad, Mark McCormick, who’s the head pro at Suburban Golf Club (in Union, N.J.), qualified for the Open in 2012. We’re among the very few father-son duos to compete in the Open. So, it was pretty cool. Having family and friends there in Pittsburgh made it even better. My entire 2025 U.S. Open experience gave me a shot in the arm.
It’s hard – really hard – to win or even make cuts as a rookie. Especially in 2024, with all the PGA Tour changes in eligibility and scheduling. The tour is so competitive that it exposes all your strengths and your weaknesses. On other tours, you can sometimes camouflage flaws, but not there. While consistency is great, it seems like the key to success is to ride the wave when your game feels good and make the most of those stretches.
I’m feeling good about it. I’ve got a chance to improve my status at the Korn Ferry Q-School in December in Savannah. Finishing in the top five would get me back on the PGA Tour, and that’s the goal. I already have Korn Ferry conditional status from finishing top 75 this year, so I’m in a good spot. And off the course, my fiancée and I are getting married later in the year – so 2026 is shaping up to be a great one.