Matt McCarty acquired his first PGA Tour victory on the Black Desert Championship.
Christian Petersen/Getty Pictures
After Scottie Scheffler, nobody has received extra in skilled golf than Matt McCarty in 2024 and now his profitable is not only unique to the Korn Ferry Tour.
McCarty, his yr’s Korn Ferry Tour factors chief turned the primary participant since 2016 to win 3 times in a single calendar yr, incomes an automated promotion to the PGA Tour. This week’s Black Desert Championship was simply his second Tour occasion as a member and third in his profession.
However whereas profitable is profitable, profitable on the Korn Ferry Tour and the PGA Tour are two completely various things. So it’s comprehensible when McCarty, holding a two-shot lead on the again 9 of the ultimate spherical on the Black Desert Championship, three-putted the twelfth gap to chop his personal result in one, he could have felt some nerves.
Two holes later, you’ll have by no means recognized.
On the drivable par-4 14th, McCarty delivered the shot of the event, turning over a 3-wood from 297 yards off the tee to only 3 ft, 7 inches. It was the closest tee sheet all week on the drivable par-4 and the following eagle expanded his result in three, on his technique to a final-round 67 to win the inaugural Black Desert Championship for his first PGA Tour win.
The win on the “massive Tour” places a bow on a outstanding three-and-a-half-month run for McCarty, who solely acquired his first Korn Ferry Tour win in mid-July on the Value Cutter Charity Championship. He received once more three begins later after which grabbed the third in Boise on the first Korn Ferry Tour Finals occasion, locking up his PGA Tour card and incomes an instantaneous promotion earlier than even the tip of August.
Whereas the FedEx Cup Playoffs performed out, McCarty completed out the KFT season earlier than making his first PGA Tour begin final week on the Sanderson Farms Championship, the place he completed T63. He’s now simply the second participant ever, becoming a member of Jason Gore in 2005, to win in the identical season after incomes the battlefield promotion.
Clearly, one begin was sufficient to make the adjustment as a result of he got here out firing at Black Desert Resort this week, making seven birdies and an eagle in spherical 1 for a 62. Then he caught hearth once more on Saturday — a marathon day after he needed to get to the course early to play the previous few holes of his second spherical — with a birdie-birdie-birdie-eagle-birdie run on his entrance 9 as part of a 64 to offer him his first profession 54-hole lead.
2024 Black Desert Championship cash: Right here’s how a lot each participant made
He opened with a birdie Sunday after which added one other on the seventh to make the flip with a two-shot lead over Lucas Glover, who had already completed his closing spherical at 19 beneath after a 62. However the expensive three-putt on 12 halved that lead, placing McCarty in a nervy spot as he waited on the 14th tee.
Stephan Jaeger and Kevin Streelman have been additionally making a push as Jaeger acquired to 19 beneath and Streelman had a putt to hitch him on 14.
However then McCarty proved his steel together with his tee shot on the 310-yard par-4, so near the outlet that Streelman needed to mark McCarty’s ball simply to hit his personal birdie putt.
The eagle introduced him to 22 beneath for the week, which nobody may match after two extra birdies and a bogey on 17 to complete, that quantity acquired to 23 beneath. Jaeger ended up in solo second at 20 beneath.
By being the highest participant on the Korn Ferry Tour, McCarty was already in subsequent yr’s Gamers and U.S. Open Championship, however this victory may even imply he begins subsequent season on the Sentry and will get a Masters Invitational. It additionally extends his Tour membership by way of the tip of the 2026 season.
