Matt McCarty wins Albertsons Boise Open, earns Three-Victory Promotion to PGA TOUR

BOISE, Idaho – Seven weeks ago, Matt McCarty walked off the 18th green at TPC Colorado without a Korn Ferry Tour win and having lost a three-stroke, 54-hole lead. As it turned out, the setback was merely the start of a historic run to the PGA TOUR.

McCarty bounced back the very next week, winning the Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Dr Pepper. Three starts later, a win at the Pinnacle Bank Championship presented by Woodhouse. And this week, in what was his second start as a two-time winner, McCarty closed out a two-stroke victory at the Albertsons Boise Open presented by Chevron and earned the coveted Three-Victory Promotion.

McCarty, who led by three strokes through 36 holes and carried a one-stroke lead into the final round, countered four bogeys with six birdies en route to a 2-under 69 Sunday at Hillcrest Country Club. The Scottsdale, Arizona, native totaled 21-under 263 for the tournament, good enough for a two-stroke victory over Kevin Roy and William Mouw, both of whom, along with Ryan Gerard, earned #TOURBound declarations of their own.

But only McCarty officially became a PGA TOUR member Sunday evening in Boise.

The trophy and winner’s check were bonus prizes. For McCarty, the most desired piece of hardware was the PGA TOUR card a tournament official handed him shortly before the trophy ceremony came to a close.

“A little surreal, for sure … just really grinded it out and was happy to hang on in the end,” McCarty said moments prior to pulling the PGA TOUR card out of his pocket. “The card was the best part. I got handed my (PGA TOUR) badges walking out of scoring, so that was pretty cool, too. I knew I was going to get it, but it’s different having it.”

McCarty became the first player since Mito Pereira to achieve the Three-Victory Promotion. Pereira accomplished the feat in the 2020-21 season, which spanned two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to Sunday, the last Korn Ferry Tour player to win three times in a single calendar year season was Wesley Bryan in 2016.

The Three-Victory Promotion grants McCarty immediate eligibility for PGA TOUR events, meaning he will join the TOUR’s priority ranking for the FedExCup Fall.

McCarty also extended his lead over the No. 2 player on the 2024 Korn Ferry Tour Points List, Max McGreevy, to 687 points. With only three events remaining in the season-ending Korn Ferry Tour Finals, no other player is within 880 points of McCarty on the Points List.

While the top 30 players on the Points List upon conclusion of the Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance will earn PGA TOUR membership for the 2025 season, the No. 1 player also earns exemptions for the 2025 PLAYERS Championship and 2025 U.S. Open.

The first two events in the FedExCup Fall – Procore Championship and Sanderson Farms Championship – conflict with Korn Ferry Tour Finals events, leaving McCarty with some decisions to make as he looks to solidify the No. 1 spot on the 2024 Korn Ferry Tour Points List.

“I haven’t really thought about it,” McCarty said. “The goal is to get the No. 1 spot. We’ll maybe play some (FedExCup) Fall events, have some fun out there and look forward to continuing to get better and compete out there next year.”

McCarty birdied the first four holes in Sunday’s final round, but his playing partners in the final group – 19-year-old Korn Ferry Tour winner Aldrich Potgieter and 23-year-old William Mouw – went 3-under par across the same stretch.

After the group struggled through the rest of the front nine, McCarty birdied the par-4 12th, only to come back to the field with back-to-back bogeys at the par-4 14th and 15th. McCarty’s lead dwindled to just one stroke until a birdie at the par-5 16th provided an extra cushion.

McCarty finished the win with two-putt pars at the par-3 17th and par-4 18th.

“Playing golf how I know I can play it is more satisfying than anything,” McCarty said. “It wasn’t easy to win. It doesn’t get any easier. This was probably the hardest day I’ve had out of all three (wins) Sunday. It’s a grind out here, always is.

“It’s just been a lot of grinding, and a lot of hard work,” added McCarty, who will have two weeks to determine where he will tee it up next, whether it be the Procore Championship on the PGA TOUR, or the Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation on the Korn Ferry Tour. “The next two weeks or whatever it is are going to be very welcomed. Some rest on the couch, and football season starting, so that will be fun.”

While the trio will not officially earn PGA TOUR cards until the conclusion of the Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance, scheduled for Oct. 3-6, Gerard (T7), Mouw (T2) and Roy (T2) were all declared #TOURBound Sunday. The three are now assured of a top-30 finish on the Points List and PGA TOUR membership for the 2025 season.

The top 144 players on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List are eligible to compete in the Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation (Sept. 12-15), the second of four Korn Ferry Tour Finals events. Three players who began the week outside of the top 144 played their way into the top 144: Bryson Nimmer (T12), Bill Haas (T24) and Morgan Hoffmann (T24).

Final-round notes

• Matt McCarty (first/-21) became the seventh 36-hole leader/co-leader who went on to win a Korn Ferry Tour event this season.
• Eight of the last 11 events were won by a 54-hole leader/co-leader.
• William Mouw (T2/-19) matched his career-high finish on Tour (T2/2024 Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Kansas Wichita Open Benefitting KU Wichita Pediatrics); he will be a PGA TOUR rookie in 2025.
• Kevin Roy (T2/-19) recorded his second runner-up finish of the 2024 season and third of his Korn Ferry Tour career (2nd/2024 The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic at Sandals Emerald Bay; 2nd/2022 Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Kansas Wichita Open Benefitting KU Wichita Pediatrics); he is set to return to the PGA TOUR in 2025, having previously graduated from the Korn Ferry Tour in 2022.
• Korn Ferry Tour winner Ryan Gerard (T7/-17) logged his third top-10 of the season; he will return to the PGA TOUR in 2025, as he played the 2022-23 season on TOUR via Special Temporary Membership.