Matt McCarty keeps it going in Black Desert | Golf news and tour information

Matt McCarty's first PGA TOUR victory at the inaugural Black Desert Championship in Ivins, Utah is summed up in one paragraph:

Arriving at the short par-4 14th hole at Black Desert Resort with a one-shot lead, McCarty pulled a fairway metal from the sheath and unleashed a bullet draw that headed straight for the flagstick. The 297-yard drive was of such exceptional quality that Kevin Streelman, who was standing on the green to allow McCarty and his playing partner Joe Highsmith access to the green, had to mark McCarty's ball. It was something like Streelman's 14-foot birdie look. McCarty's ball landed three feet, seven inches from the cup. Yes, he made the putt. He then won by three ahead of Stephan Jaeger.

What a golf assassin the baby-faced McCarty has become in the last three months. Three victories on the Korn Ferry Tour for immediate promotion to the PGA Tour were not enough for the Scottsdale, Arizona native. No. He needed to win in his third career Tour start and fourth time in his last 10 starts overall.

“Honestly, I don’t know how you can expect something like that,” the left-hander said in a soft voice. “I don't know. It's just a lot of fun and I've worked really hard and this year has been great for me out there. Getting here a little early was just great – getting some experience, and now of course. The last few Months were just crazy for me.”

McCarty, a product of Santa Clara University – where he won just once – had a fine third season on the Korn Ferry Tour with three top-five finishes before setting off his own fireworks just after the Fourth of July. He finished with a bogey-free six-under 66 to win the Price Cutter Charity Championship on July 21, and three weeks later he won the Pinnacle Bank Championship. Two weeks later, he reached the trifecta with his victory at the Albertsons Boise Open, becoming the 13th player to achieve the three-win promotion introduced in 1997.

The self-proclaimed “late bloomer” joins Jason Gore as the only players to win on tour in the same season he was promoted with three wins.

The 26-year-old McCarty finished with a four-under 67 for a total of 23-under 261 and secured $1.35 million and exemptions to the Masters, PGA Championship and the season-opening event 2025, The Sentry. He had already secured a spot at the US Open and the Players by finishing first on the Korn Ferry Tour points list. He owes his big leap in success to speed training and a muscle-building program to gain distance, after winning little more than mini-tour events before this year.

“We just tried to stay patient, and it's really hard to win golf tournaments,” he said of his learning curve. “Keep telling yourself that and all you can do is really put yourself in the competition and see what happens. You learn a lot from this. People always say: learn how to win. I think it's like learning to just compete and make it more often. Sometimes it just feels like winning, especially lately.”

Jaeger birdied the final round for a 68 to finish alone in second place, while Streelman shot a 69 after a birdie of his own on the par-5 home hole and joined Lucas Glover in third place at 19-under 265. Glover finished with a bogey. Free 62 and moved from 70th to 61st on the FedEx Cup points list. Players who finish 51-60 on the points list will receive exemptions to the first two signature events of 2025, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Genesis Invitational.

The fourth rookie to win this year, McCarty joined Seve Ballesteros, Russell Henley and Bob Gilder to win in his third start. Only Jim Benepe and Garrick Higgo won faster in their first and second starts, respectively.

McCarty began the final round with a two-shot lead over four players and immediately birdied his first hole after a 189-yard approach to four feet. But after Streelman converted an Eagles eagle on the par-5 seventh to cut the lead to one shot, the game got a little nerve-wracking for the leader. He was never really able to break free from the field until that flawless three-pointer on the 14th green. McCarty birdied 16, bogeyed 17 with three putts and capped the win on the 18th with a two-putt birdie. His final stroke was no more than an inch or two long.

He is miles ahead of where he was three months ago.

His goal entering the week was to finish in the top 10 and earn a spot in the Shriners Hospital Open in Las Vegas, which begins Thursday. On Sunday night, it sounded like he was weighing whether he would play or not.

“Yeah, we’ll see. At some point I’m going to need a break,” he said.

Well, his colleagues could use a break from him too.