The Five: All about PGA TOUR's newest member Matt McCarty

Editor's note: This piece was first published before Matt McCarty's debut as a PGA TOUR member at the Sanderson Farms Championship. McCarty would go on to win the Black Desert Championship in his second start as a PGA TOUR member after earning a Three-Victory Promotion from the Korn Ferry Tour.

If you’re not yet familiar with the name Matt McCarty, that will soon change.

McCarty will make his PGA TOUR debut as a member at Sanderson Farms Championship after earning a Three-Victory Promotion from the Korn Ferry Tour. McCarty earned his third Korn Ferry Tour win of the season at the Albertsons Boise Open presented by Chevron in August, but he played the next two Korn Ferry Tour events to pursue the No. 1 spot on the season-long standings, which he secured with a T5 finish at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship two weeks ago. Having built an insurmountable lead on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List, more than 600 points clear of No. 2 Max McGreevy, he had nothing to lose by playing the Sanderson Farms Championship in lieu of this week’s Korn Ferry Tour Championship.

As No. 1 on the 2024 Korn Ferry Tour Points List, McCarty has qualified for the 2025 U.S. Open and THE PLAYERS Championship. He’s also fully exempt on the 2025 PGA TOUR (excluding Signature Events, for which he can qualify via the Aon Next 10, Aon Swing 5 or as a tournament winner).

The left-handed McCarty became the first player to win three Korn Ferry Tour titles in a single year since Wesley Bryan in 2016, and he’s intent on becoming one of the world’s best players. After a sparkling year on the Korn Ferry Tour, he’s well on his way.

Here are five things to know about the PGA TOUR’s newest member.

1. Steady progression

McCarty’s success in 2024 is the culmination of a life’s work and evidence that a third time around the Korn Ferry Tour was indeed the charm. After finishing his fifth-year senior season at Santa Clara University in the spring of 2021, he earned Korn Ferry Tour membership via Q-School that fall and finished No. 55 on the season-long standings as a rookie in 2022. He improved to No. 35 on the standings in 2023, finishing tied for 14th at the Korn Ferry Tour Championship despite two water balls leading to a quadruple bogey on his final hole of the third round. Had he made par on that hole, he would have finished solo fifth and earned a TOUR card. Undeterred, he elevated his game to a new level in 2024, winning three times in a six-event span – at the Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Dr Pepper, Pinnacle Bank Championship presented by Woodhouse, and Albertsons Boise Open presented by Chevron – to secure the 13th Three-Victory Promotion in Korn Ferry Tour history. McCarty was also an accomplished junior and collegiate player – he won the 2014 Arizona Junior Match Play, shared individual medalist honors at the 2015 Arizona high school state championship as a senior, and led Santa Clara in scoring average as a junior (71.26), senior (71.19) and fifth-year senior (71.00) before turning pro in summer 2021. He also reached the quarterfinals of the 2019 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball, alongside college teammate Derek Ackerman.

2. A future Joel-and-Geno duo?

McCarty and his caddie Devrath Das have been together for all three Korn Ferry Tour seasons – joined at the hip from the low points (like a quadruple bogey on the final hole Saturday at last year’s Korn Ferry Tour Championship to fall from a projected TOUR card) to the high point of three Korn Ferry Tour titles in a six-event span this summer. Their relationship extends beyond the ropes; they first met as college teammates at Santa Clara, and they spend ample time together off the course, frequently playing each other in early-week golf matches. The vibe reminds those of another close friendship-turned-longtime player/caddie duo, Joel Dahmen and Geno Bonnalie, whose off-course pursuits have included golf (and sometimes mini-golf) competitions. McCarty and Das have played a wide range of tracks including the prestigious Pine Valley Golf Club (during this summer’s Magnit Championship on the Korn Ferry Tour), and they played TPC Sawgrass’ PLAYERS Stadium Course between events earlier this spring. They’ve adopted a nickname on the Korn Ferry Tour as “Road Dawgs” – a moniker inspired by the Barstool Sports “Pardon My Take” podcast, a McCarty favorite – one that they look forward to bringing to the PGA TOUR.

3. Seattle roots, Arizona raised

McCarty calls the Phoenix, Arizona area home – he spent most of his formative years there, and it’s where he still resides. His home course in middle and high school was Dobson Ranch Golf Course, where he often competed against his dad, a good player in his own right (who doesn’t like taking strokes but “definitely needs some now,” McCarty laughed.) McCarty also holds ties to Seattle, though, as he lived there until age 10 and remains an avid Seattle Seahawks fan. His earliest golf memories stem from Seattle, where he and his dad would hit balls at Riverbend Golf Complex and play the adjacent par-3 course (which has since closed). Aside from the Seahawks, he’s loyal to his hometown Phoenix Suns in basketball, and to the Chicago Cubs in baseball (his dad’s family has Chicago roots).

4. A secret weapon

Last year, McCarty opted to put a 7-wood in the bag, largely to access hole locations on long par 3s and mid-range par 5s. He wasn’t sure about the move at first, but the club has quickly become one of his favorites, a testament to his willingness to adapt his game. It has been an effective move, as McCarty ranks No. 9 on the Korn Ferry Tour in par-5 scoring average (4.47), after ranking No. 113 and No. 61 in the category in his first two seasons. “It’s a fun club to have,” he said. “I never really thought I would have a 7-wood. It’s been great, to be more aggressive on some long par 3s and some par 5s, coming in with a little higher ball with some spin has been fun … It’s been something really cool.” Expect the 7-wood to fill the highlight reel on the PGA TOUR.

5. Breakthrough moment

McCarty qualified for the 2022 U.S. Open at The Country Club, draining a 25-foot birdie in near-darkness at the 36th hole of Final Qualifying outside Atlanta to earn a spot in a playoff, which he then survived with a birdie on the first extra hole. Looking back this fall, he described that day as an early indication that he could hang in professional golf. It came just a year after turning pro in 2021, and he was just 15 starts into his Korn Ferry Tour career at the time. That marked his first and only TOUR start to this point, with many more to come. (McCarty won’t need to qualify for next year’s U.S. Open at Oakmont, by virtue of winning the 2024 Korn Ferry Tour’s season-long standings. He laughs that he was excited this year to not have to play U.S. Open Local Qualifying – safe to say he has come a long way.)