Making good on the famous saying that assures what is meant for you will come to you, and what is not, won’t, Matt McCarty (-23) inaugurated his victory record this Sunday, early Monday morning in Spain, on the PGA Tour. He did so by conquering the Black Desert Championship, in the lava desert of Utah, where the player born in Scottsdale, Arizona, felt at home from day one. And after a final round in which it seemed clear that he is on a roll and everything seems to be on his side at decisive moments.
At the end of July, by winning his first tournament on the Korn Ferry Tour, McCarty began an unstoppable series that changed his life. In just over a month, he won three events in the second division of American golf, automatically securing his playing rights on the PGA Tour for the rest of the year and ensuring his card for 2025. And in his second tournament on the main tour, third if we include the US Open he participated in a few years ago, he lifted the trophy, confirming the tremendous success that destiny had reserved for him.
“Let them have their moment.” ❤️@MattMcCarty21’s dad Scott was soaking in every moment after seeing his son win for the first time on TOUR. pic.twitter.com/nnzmFTSWji
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) October 14, 2024
It didn’t matter that up to 10 players signed better cards than his on Sunday, some tremendous like the 62 of Lucas Glover and Matti Schmid. None of them were his immediate pursuers in the standings, so he was able to make good the two-shot advantage with which he started on Sunday, with only one moderately delicate moment in the final day that he resolved with what was undoubtedly the shot of the day, the tournament, and surely of his life, at least so far.
After closing the first half of his round with only two birdies and committing a bogey on the 12th, seeing his lead on the board reduced to the bare minimum, without hesitation, McCarty took a risk on the risk-reward par four of the 14th with an absolutely spectacular drive that flew like a guided missile to stop a metre from the flag. A tremendous eagle that put things back on track, paving his way to a victory that seemed written and nothing and no one could take away from him.
297 yards to 3 feet 😤@MattMcCarty21 sticks it on the drivable par-4 14th @BDChampionship. pic.twitter.com/ZggL7fBHmn
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) October 13, 2024
A birdie on the 16th turned his last two holes into a triumphant walk. His bogey on the 17th mattered little, the sixth of a tournament in which he leaves cards of 62, 68, 64, and 67 strokes. He had it done, and only a true catastrophe could have deprived him of the coveted victory. And even in those circumstances, he didn’t try to be conservative, going for the green in two on the par-five 18th and even putting for eagle to finish with a final birdie on his fantastic week. Or rather, the quarter of his life, in which he went from being just another player on the Korn Ferry Tour to boasting a title on the PGA Tour and securing his future.
Ending in style 👏
With a two-shot lead, @MattMcCarty21 sticks a beautiful approach on the 72nd hole @BDChampionship. pic.twitter.com/PVzPbpWcN6
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) October 14, 2024
His final margin was three strokes over German Stephan Jaeger (-20), whose chances seemed to vanish on Saturday, but who in the final round also couldn’t find the necessary birdie rhythm to make a comeback, and four over Kevin Streelman (-19), an identical case, and Lucas Glover (-19), who started the final round in 28th place and with nine under par on the day, like Matti Schmid (-18), tied for fifth, was close to achieving a true feat. The South Carolina player ran out of holes… or McCarty was too much for him. It wasn’t meant for him.
McCarty thus becomes the second player to win a PGA Tour tournament in the same season he achieves promotion through three victories on the Korn Ferry, after Jason Gore, who did it in 2005. He also joins a select list of players who win for the first time on the tour in one of their first three tournaments: Jim Benepe, in the BMW Championship of 1988, did it on his debut; Garrick Higgo, in the Palmetto Championship of 2021, did it in the second; and Bob Gilder, in the Phoenix Open of 1976, Russell Henley, in the Sony Open of 2013, and none other than Seve Ballesteros, in the Wyndham Championship of 1978, did it in the third, like McCarty.
With his victory, Matt becomes the fourth rookie to win this season (after Nick Dunlap‘s double and the triumphs of Matthieu Pavon and Jake Knapp), the third left-hander to win a title on the PGA Tour in 2024 (alongside Robert MacIntyre and Akshay Bathia), and the 13th different winner of the season. Additionally, he pockets a prize of 1.35 million dollars, secures playing rights on the tour for 2025 and 2026, earns a spot in the January champions’ tournament, and will debut next year at the Masters Tournament. And as if that weren’t enough, he climbs no less than 137 positions in the FedEx Cup Fall standings, the overall autumn calendar, to already be among the top 100 (95th place). A position that, if his unstoppable streak continues in the remaining autumn calendar, will undoubtedly lead him directly to the best events on the tour. A fantastic quarter that completely turns his career around.
