Kyle Westmoreland, Matt McCarty share lead at UNC Health Championship

Things to Know

Second-year member Matt McCarty claims the first lead/co-lead of his Korn Ferry Tour career with a 7-under 63

Kyle Westmoreland sets a career low round with a 7-under 63 to share the 18-hole lead with McCarty

Korn Ferry Tour rookie Trent Phillips cards a career low 6-under 64 and sets a new personal best 18-hole position

Five players record bogey-free first rounds, including Jacob Bridgeman and Frankie Capan III who both sit T3

Grayson Murray, who has two career top-10 finishes in this event, is three shots off the lead in T11 position

First-Round Lead Notes

3: First-round leaders/co-leaders to win UNC Health Championship presented by STITCH

- Kyle Thompson (2007), Mark Hensby (2000), Skip Kendall (1994)

0: First-round leaders/co-leaders to win on Tour in 2023

- Last: David Lingmerth – 2022 Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship

Kyle Westmoreland (Co-leader / -7)

Carded a 7-under 63 made up of one eagle (par-5 eighth), six birdies and one bogey (par-3 14th)

Marks a new career low round in a PGA TOUR-sanctioned start, topping previous best of 64 in the second round of the 2022 Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Kansas Wichita Open Benefitting KU Wichita Pediatrics

Finished the first round playing 5-under par over his final five holes (birdie-birdie-par-eagle-birdie on Nos. 5-9)

Making his first Korn Ferry Tour start of the year this week as he has primarily played on the PGA TOUR this season

In 19 starts on TOUR this 2022-23 season, has logged five made cuts with the best finish being a T27 at the Cadence Bank Houston Open

Earned first career PGA TOUR card via Korn Ferry Tour Finals last season when he finished No. 25 and became the first Air Force Academy graduate to earn a TOUR card

In 26 starts on the Korn Ferry Tour last year, logged six top-25 finishes, including three top-10s

Best finish in the 2022 season was solo-seventh at the Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Kansas Wichita Open Benefitting KU Wichita Pediatrics

While playing collegiately at Air Force from 2010-14, he tallied five individual victories

Following graduation from the Academy in 2014, served a five-year term and attained the rank of captain in the United States Air Force

Matt McCarty (Co-leader / -7)

Recorded a 7-under 63 with eight birdies against one bogey

Eight birdies were the most by any player in the field Thursday

Birdied five par 4s (Nos. 7, 9, 13, 15, 18), two par 3s (Nos. 6, 17) and one par 5 (No. 8)

Wrapped up the first round with four consecutive birdies on Nos. 6-9

Marks a new career low round topping his previous best of 64 (achieved twice, most recently in the second round of the 2023 HomeTown Lenders Championship)

Entered this week with four top-25 finishes in his last five starts (T10, T22, T17, MC, T23)

Currently sits No. 22 on the Points List; in 11 starts this season, has logged six top-25 finishes, including three inside the top 10

Best finish of the season is a T3 at The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club, which is also a career best finish

In his rookie season on the Tour last year, he tallied four top-25 finishes in 25 starts and finished No. 55 on the final regular season Points List

Turned professional in 2021 after playing five seasons at Santa Clara University (2016-21) where he was a three-time All-West Coast Conference honoree

Joined PGA TOUR Canada in 2021 and logged three top-10 finishes that season, placing 22nd in the final Fortinet Cup Standings

Originally earned Korn Ferry Tour status by placing T39 at Final Stage of the 2021 Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament

Quotables

Matt McCarty on starting the week off strong… “Off to a good start, that's always better than a bad one. I just hit the ball really well. These greens are tough so if you hit it close, you kind of have a lot of looks. But if you miss a little bit, you can be going up and over some of these slopes. So it was a good day hitting the ball and when I did miss, left myself on the right side.”

Kyle Westmoreland on Raleigh Country Club… “This course is awesome, a very neat golf course. And weather's perfect, so can't complain to be playing golf. I have no complaints. The hospitality's been great, people have been great and practice facilities are kind of like the Disneyland of golf, right? So it's pretty awesome.”

Jacob Bridgeman on his 6-under 64… “I hit my irons really well and put it in play off the tee. I hit a handful of shots to tap-in range, which was nice to have some gimme birdies. When I got out of range, I just played the hole smart and didn’t get too aggressive. I’m more of a conservative player. This course is not super easy and it showed. If you slip up you can make a lot of bogeys fast.”

Notes

Rookie Frankie Capan III (T3 / -6) recorded a bogey-free 6-under 64, tied for his lowest round of the season (64 in the second round of the HomeTown Lenders Championship)

Capan birdied two par 5s (Nos. 8, 12), two par 4s (Nos. 9, 10) and two par 3s (Nos. 6, 14)

Marks his highest 18-hole position with his previous best being T20 at the 2023 LECOM Suncoact Classic

Currently sits 40th on the Points List after logging three top-25 finishes in 10 starts this season, highlighted by a T3 in the aforementioned HomeTown Lenders Championship

Josh Teater (T3 / -6) sits inside the top 10 after 18 holes for the first time this season and the 26th time in his Korn Ferry Tour career (making his 163rd start this week)

Teaters’s 6-under 64 is tied for his second lowest round of the season (best is a second-round 63 last week in the Visit Knoxville Open)

Making the 19th start of his Korn Ferry Tour career, Jacob Bridgeman (T3 / -6) tied his career low round with a bogey-free 6-under 64 (first achieved at the fourth round at the 2023 Veritex Bank Championship)

In his second season on the Tour, Bridgeman originally earned Korn Ferry Tour membership last year after finishing No. 2 in the PGA TOUR University Class of 2022, only behind Texas' Pierceson Coody

Korn Ferry Tour rookie Trent Phillips (T3 / -6), who made his professional debut in this event last season as a sponsor exemption, cards a career low 6-under 64 consisting of seven birdies against one bogey

Marks the second time Phillips sits inside the top 10 after any round (T8 after round one of the 2023 Club Car Championship at The Landings Golf & Athletic Club)

In Phillips’ eight career Korn Ferry Tour starts, he has one top-25 finish, a T23 which came at last week’s Visit Knoxville Open

Tom Whitney (T7 / -5) carded a bogey-free first round while rolling in birdies at five par 4s (Nos. 5, 7, 9, 10, 15) to finish at 5-under 65

Davis Chatfield (T7 / -5) sits inside the top 10 after 18 holes for the third time in his rookie season; the rookie is in search of his first top-10 finish on the Korn Ferry Tour (best is a T18 at the LECOM Suncoast Classic)

Raleigh native Grayson Murray (T11 / -4) carded a 4-under 66 which included three birdies on his final four holes of the day at Nos. 15, 17 and 18

Murray is making his seventh appearance in the UNC Health Championship presented by STITCH; he has two top-10 finishes in this event, highlighted by a T2 finish in 2019 when he tallied a final-round 9-under 61, his lowest round in a PGA TOUR-sanctioned start

University of North Carolina alum and Raleigh native Carter Jenkins (T53 / E) birdied the par-4 13th and bogeyed the par-4 18th to finish at even-par 70

Five players recorded bogey-free rounds Thursday: Capan, Bridgeman, Whitney, Scott Harrington (T11 / -4) and Vince Whaley (T25 / -2)