Matt McCarty is among the newest crop of PGA Tour golfers and is enjoying an excellent 2024 on the course. Find out more about the American player via these facts about his life and career in the game so far...
Matt McCarty Facts
1. McCarty was born on December 11, 1997 in Scottsdale, Arizona.
2. He plays golf left-handed.
3. During his time at Desert Mountain High School, McCarty volunteered for a charity which works with homeless people.
4. As an amateur, McCarty won three times. He claimed the 2014 Arizona Junior Match Play Championship, the 2018 The Farms Invitational, and the 2018 Bayonet Amateur Championship.
5. McCarty attended Santa Clara University between 2016 and 2021, graduating in 2020 with a bachelors degree in finance before going to grad school in 2021 and majoring in marketing.
6. While at Santa Clara, he earned All West Coast Conference honors three times.
7. In 2018, he carded a 10-under round of 61 during the Alister MacKenzie Invitational.
8. McCarty qualified for the 2020 US Amateur and shot an 8-over 151 during stroke play.
9. He turned professional after leaving college in 2021 and initially played on the Forme Tour - a circuit created by the PGA Tour in response to Covid for non-Canadian PGA Tour Canada members.
10. Also in 2021, McCarty won the Wyoming State Open.
11. His Major debut arrived in 2022 at the US Open, but the left-hander missed the cut at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts.
12. Between 2022 and 2024, McCarty played on the Korn Ferry Tour and won three times in the space of six weeks.
13. His three Korn Ferry Tour victories in 2024 made him the 13th player since 1997 to earn a PGA Tour card this way. He also topped the Korn Ferry Tour's points list in 2024.
14. McCarty's highest-ever OWGR position is 47th.
15. His personal interests include skiing and watching movies.
16. McCarty made his regular PGA Tour debut at the 2024 Sanderson Farms Championship.
17. The left-hander won his first PGA Tour title in just his third-ever start, landing the 2024 Black Desert Championship by three strokes.
18. McCarty is joint-third in the all-time list of players to secure a PGA Tour win in the fewest starts. Bob Gilder, Seve Ballesteros, and Russell Henley all managed a victory in their third start while Garrick Higgo won on his second start and Jim Benepe triumphed on his PGA Tour debut.
19. Following his Black Desert Championship triumph, McCarty became only the second player ever (Jason Gore, 2005) to win on the PGA Tour in the same season they were promoted.
20. McCarty is set to make his debut at The Masters and the PGA Championship in 2025.
