Matt McCarty fends off field, holds slim lead at Albertsons Boise Open

Things to know

• Two-time Korn Ferry Tour winner and Korn Ferry Tour Points List leader Matt McCarty maintains the outright lead for a second consecutive round at 19-under 194 and will carry a one-stroke lead into Sunday’s final round in his bid to earn the Three-Victory Promotion.
• Seven of the last 10 Korn Ferry Tour events were won by the 54-hole leader/co-leader.
• Korn Ferry Tour winner Aldrich Potgieter (T2/-18) cards nine birdies, an eagle at the par-4 10th, and three bogeys en route to 8-under 63 to move within one stroke of the lead; he is bidding to become the youngest multi-time winner in Korn Ferry Tour history.
• William Mouw (T2/-18) cards third consecutive bogey-free round with 8-under 63 to move within one stroke of the lead; he is the only player in the field without a bogey through 54 holes.
• Quade Cummins (T4/-16), one of 10 players declared #TOURBound, cards the low round of the day with an 11-under 60; he posts the 13th round of 60 or better with a bogey in Korn Ferry Tour history.
• Upon conclusion of this week’s Albertsons Boise Open presented by Chevron, the top 144 players on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List will be eligible to compete in the Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation, the second of four season-ending Korn Ferry Tour Finals events

Charting the leader

Matt McCarty (1st/-19)

• Bidding to become the 13th player in Korn Ferry Tour history to earn the Three-Victory Promotion; the last player to accomplish the feat was Mito Pereira (2020-21), and the last to accomplish the feat in a single calendar year season was Wesley Bryan (2016).
• Earning the Three-Victory Promotion would grant him an immediate promotion to the PGA TOUR, thus making him eligible to compete in the FedExCup Fall.
• Holds the fourth 54-hole lead/co-lead of his career and the 2024 season; he converted one of the previous three leads/co-leads into a victory: 2024 The Ascendant presented by Blue – 1st/finished T5, 2024 Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Dr Pepper – T1/Won, 2024 Utah Championship presented by Zions Bank and Intermountain Health – T1/finished T2.
• At 19-under 194, marks his second-lowest opening 54-hole score in a Korn Ferry Tour event (career-low opening 54-hole score: 20-under 193/2024 Utah Championship/finished T2).
• Cards 4-under 67 in the third round, highlighted by hole-out eagle from greenside bunker at the par-4 10th.
• Entered the third round as one of two players in the field without a bogey, but made his first bogey of the week at the par-3 eighth, followed by another at the par-4 12th.
• Stands No. 1 on the 2024 Korn Ferry Tour Points List and is one of five multi-time winners this season.
• One of 10 players already declared #TOURBound and assured of finishing in the top 30 on the 2024 Korn Ferry Tour Points List, thus ensuring they earned PGA TOUR membership for the 2025 season.
• Entered the week with five top-10s – including two wins – in the last six Korn Ferry Tour events.
• Finished in the top 75 of the Korn Ferry Tour Points List each of the last two seasons (No. 55 as a rookie in 2022, No. 35 in 2023) and is fully exempt for 2024.
• Earned Korn Ferry Tour membership for the first time ahead of the 2022 season with a T39 at Final Stage of 2021 Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament (now PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry).
• Turned professional in 2021 after five seasons at Santa Clara University (2016-21), where he earned three All-West Coast Conference honors (2018, 2019, 2021).

Quotables

Matt McCarty on what the hardest thing about Sunday’s final round will be… “I think just staying focused on what I'm doing and continuing to just hit fairways and give myself looks. Got chased down a lot today by a lot of people. The course is gettable. Everybody is playing well. It'll be tough. It's not easy to win golf tournaments. I wouldn't say it's been easy for me the last couple month and a half, but it's been very tough before that. Just understanding how difficult it is and knowing that and just kind of keep reminding myself of that tomorrow.”

McCarty on what he’s learned about himself the last couple months… “I'm just most proud of, after winning in Springfield, just continuing to play well. I think knowing that this is the level of golf that I'm capable of, but being able to continue that, as well, just on a lot of different golf courses. Springfield, Omaha, this place, they're all different. It's still golf, still the same thing, but you're hitting a lot of different shots. Just being able to do that, and just being able to play well and continue this streak.”

Additional player notes

• Korn Ferry Tour winner Aldrich Potgieter (T2/-18), who stands No. 27 on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List, is bidding to become the youngest multi-time winner in Korn Ferry Tour history; the 19-year-old South African previously eclipsed 13-time PGA TOUR winner Jason Day the youngest winner in Korn Ferry Tour history with a victory at the 2024 The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club this past January. The only player to earn two Korn Ferry Tour wins prior to turning 21 years old is Sungjae Im, who captured his second win at the 2018 WinCo Foods Portland Open at 20 years, 4 months, and 20 days of age; Potgieter will be 19 years, 11 months, and 12 days of age Sunday.
• William Mouw (T2/-18), who stands No. 22 on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List, has played his last 58 holes without a bogey; he is the only player in the field without a bogey through 54 holes this week.
• Korn Ferry Tour winner Ryan Gerard (T4/-16), who stands No. 13 on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List, is T4 or higher through 54 holes for the fifth time this season, the second-most occurrences by a player on Tour this season (Matt McCarty/six); he converted one of those previous instances into a victory at the BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by TD SYNNEX.
• Potgieter and Gerard are each bidding to become the sixth multi-time winner this season; the last Korn Ferry Tour season with at least six multi-time winners was 2020-21 (seven), and the last single calendar year season with at least six multi-time winners was 1999 (seven).
• Quade Cummins (T4/-16), one of 10 players declared #TOURBound, plays the first 16 holes in 12-under par, but makes bogey at the par-3 17th and posts 11-under 60, which marks the 13th round of 60 or better with a bogey in Korn Ferry Tour history.
• All three players who entered the week outside top 144 on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List and made the cut are currently projected to move into the top 144: Bryson Nimmer (T11/-13) – entered at No. 154, projected No. 123, Morgan Hoffmann (T25/-10) – entered at No. 148, projected No. 140, and Bill Haas (T25/-10) – entered at No. 146, projected No. 136.