Denny McCarthy falls in Valero playoff after seven straight closing birdies

Denny McCarthy made seven straight closing birdies for a back-nine 28 to force a Valero Texas Open playoff with Akshay Bhatia.

McCarthy took just 92 putts across 72 holes at TPC San Antonio, a TOUR low mark on record. His final-nine 28 set a tournament back-nine scoring record at the venue, as well.

But his spirited pursuit of a first TOUR title will continue into another week.

McCarthy trailed by five strokes with seven holes to play Sunday at TPC San Antonio before catching fire in historic fashion, matching Bhatia at 20-under 268 and forcing overtime. McCarthy's blazing run ended with an unfortunate splash, though, as his third shot on the first playoff hole (the par-5 18th) was caught heavy and landed in a creek fronting the green. He took a penalty and couldn't hole out on his fifth shot, allowing Bhatia a relatively stress-free proposition. Bhatia stuffed a wedge to 6 feet and converted the winning birdie after receiving shoulder treatment before his third shot.

It's McCarthy's eighth top-five finish on TOUR, as victory continues to elude the seventh-year TOUR pro. There's no disputing though that he has what it takes, as evidenced by his near-miraculous comeback attempt in the Lone Star State.

"I just was trying to stack shots together," McCarthy said afterward. "I was just trying to kind of continue what I have been doing all week and just strung together a lot of really good shots, a lot of good putts. They were falling. I kind of just got in my own little world out there, got in the zone and was able to put a little pressure on him on the back. ... The putter felt great in my hands all week. Obviously it felt great it in my hands again today. It was a great day. It sucks that it had to end like that, but just got to move forward."

McCarthy and Bhatia played together in Sunday's final grouping, alongside Brendon Todd, and it appeared for most of the day that Bhatia would have a stress-free walk up the 72nd hole. That changed as McCarthy wouldn't stop making birdies. Bhatia led by five with seven to play, played those final seven holes with two birdies and five pars, and still needed extra holes to earn his second TOUR win and first Masters invite.

A silver lining for McCarthy: He earned a Masters invite via the top-50 on the 2023 year-end Official World Golf Ranking.

McCarthy has been close before, including a playoff loss to Viktor Hovland at last year's Memorial Tournament presented by Workday. That defeat came after a bogey on the 72nd hole, which was preceded by 10 consecutive pars. This runner-up took a vastly different tone, one that bordered on surreal for its late flurry that paralleled Kevin Streelman's seven straight closing birdies to win the 2014 Travelers Championship.

That playoff wedge shot will sting, but McCarthy plans to carry abundant positives into the Masters and beyond.

"Wish I could have had that wedge shot back there," McCarthy said afterward. "I backed off a couple times. There was a bug on my ball and some noise in the stands and a bug jumped back on my ball. I probably should have backed away again, but I thought I could kind of not let it distract me and maybe it did a little. Maybe a learning experience for me, but all in all I handled myself really well today."

Here's a quick look at McCarthy's historic back nine Sunday at TPC San Antonio:

Hole 10 (par 4, 467 yards): 147-yard approach to 17 feet; makes birdie from fringe

Hole 11 (par 4, 393 yards): 117-yard approach to 29 feet; two-putts for par

Hole 12 (par 4, 397 yards): 122-yard approach to 33 feet; makes birdie

Hole 13 (par 3, 251 yards): 252-yard tee shot to 4 feet; makes birdie

Hole 14 (par 5, 576 yards): 289-yard second shot to 33 yards; pitches to 11 feet and makes birdie

Hole 15 (par 4, 452 yards): 169-yard approach to 41 feet; chips in for birdie from short of green

Hole 16 (par 3, 173 yards): 170-yard tee shot to 12 feet; makes birdie

Hole 17 (par 4, 335 yards): Tee shot to 22 yards, short and right of green; chips to 3 feet and makes birdie

Hole 18 (par 5, 606 yards): Lays up with second shot to 67 yards; wedges to 13 feet and makes birdie