Matt McCarty What's in The Bag & Player Profile
By: Derek Clements | Mon 14 Oct 2024
In only his second start on the PGA Tour, left-hander Matt McCarty landed his first title, winning the Black Desert Championship by three shots, pocketing $1.4m and picking up 500 FedEx Cup points in the process.
He finished the week on 23 under par for the tournament in Utah, holding off Stephan Jaeger for a memorable success.
With the win, McCarty has secured his playing privileges on the PGA Tour until the end of the 2026 season. He also assures himself invitations into The Sentry, the Masters and the PGA Championship.
McCarty recently earned promotion onto the PGA Tour from the Korn Ferry Tour after winning three times in the same season. He finished ranked No. 1 on the latter tour.
Beginning the week outside the top 230 in the FedEx Cup he jumped to No. 95 in the season-long race with an outside chance to play himself into the Aon Next 10 and the first two signature events of the 2025 season: the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and Genesis Invitational.
Starting the final day with a two-stroke lead, McCarty saw his advantage cut in half a few times throughout his final 18 holes but he remained on top of the leaderboard all day.
His name never dropped from the top of the leaderboard. Initially, Harris English made his presence known with an opening birdie before his playing partner Kevin Streelman began to pose as McCarty's biggest threat.
McCarty appeared to be in cruise control until a three-putt bogey at the 12th gave the chasing pack some hope. Ahead of him, Jaeger threatened his lead thanks to back-to-back birdies at the 13th and 14th to get within one. It wouldn't last long as McCarty, aged 26, shut the door shut on the drivable par-four 14th. Hitting his tee shot from just inside 300 yards to just inside four feet, McCarty holed out for an eagle to put distance between himself and the chasing pack.
Player Profile
McCarty was born in Scottsdale, Arizona on December 11, 1997.
He attended Santa Clara University between 2016 and 2021, majoring first in finance and then in marketing in graduate school. He earned three All West Coast Conference honours three times and reached the quarterfinals at the 2019 US Amateur Fourball with teammate Derek Ackerman, after the due finished at 13-under-par 128 in stroke play, the best in the field.
He turned professional in 2021 and played on the Form Tour, where his best finish was a T5. He won the Wyoming State Open.
In 2022, McCarty joined the Korn Ferry Tour where his best finishes were T5 at the 2022 Louisiana Open and tied third at the Bahamas Great Abaco Classic before recording three victories in a six-week span in 2024 to earn his PGA Tour card.
Last 10 Results
Black Desert Championship - 1st
Sanderson Farms Championship - T63rd
Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship - T5th
Simmons Bank Open For The Snedeker Foundation - T35th
Albertsons Boise Open - 1st
Magnit Championship - T9th
Pinnacle Bank Championship - 1st
Utah Championship - T2nd
NVK Invitational - T26th
Price Cutter Charity Championship - 1st
Key Stats
Driving Distance - 310.9 Yards
Driving Accuracy - 72.32%
Greens in Regulation - 77.08%
Sand Saves - 50.00%
Putts Per Round - 28.38
Scoring Average - 67.63
End of Year World Ranking Position
2021: 1106
2022: 773
2023: 430
What's in Matt McCarty's Golf Bag
Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 Degrees)
3-Wood: Ping G410 (14.5 Degrees)
7-Wood: Ping G430 Max (21 Degrees)
Irons: Ping Blueprint S (4-PW)
Wedges: Ping Glide Forged Pro (50-S10, 54-S10, 60-T6)
Putter: Ping PLD Custom Tyne C
Ball: TaylorMade TP5
Be part of the action with a selection of unique golf tournament experiences, from playing in a pro-am with the stars to watching the action at golf’s most illustrious events. Whether it’s the Masters or The Open, The Ryder Cup or WM Phoenix Open, build your own bespoke package with the experts at Golfbreaks.com.
What do you think? post your thoughts and feedback on the Golfshake comments: jump to comments here.
Tags: WITB Tour Pro player profile in the bag
