Matt McCarty just did something that hasn't been done on the PGA Tour in 20 years
CMC PGA Tour

Matt McCarty just did something that hasn’t been done on the PGA Tour in 20 years

ST GEORGE, UTAH - OCTOBER 13: Matt McCarty of the United States celebrates after winning the final round of the Black Desert Championship 2024 at Black Desert Resort on October 13, 2024 in St George, Utah. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)


Matt McCarty's incredible second half of 2024 continued on Sunday, as he won the inaugural Black Desert Championship on the PGA Tour in Utah.

The left-hander won in just his third-career PGA Tour start, putting him in rare company of players since 1970 who broke through on the PGA Tour in their first three starts.

Even more remarkable is that this was McCarty's fourth win in the last 90 days. He earned his first-ever Korn Ferry Tour victory in July at the Price Cutter Charity Championship. Three weeks later, McCarty won again at the Pinnacle Bank Championship in Nebraska. Then, he won for a third time just two weeks later at the Albertsons Boise Open to kick off the Korn Ferry Tour Finals.

With that third win, McCarty earned the Korn Ferry Tour's Three-Win Promotion, which comes with an instant upgrade to PGA Tour membership for the remainder of the season. However, McCarty still wanted to assure himself that he would finish No. 1 in the season-ending Korn Ferry Tour points list, as that comes with fully exempt PGA Tour membership and spots in The Players and the US Open. After the third of four Korn Ferry Tour Finals events, McCarty had locked up the No. 1 spot, so he skipped the season-ending Korn Ferry Tour Championship at French Lick Resort in favor of PGA Tour money and points at the Sanderson Farms Championship. McCarty made the cut.

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Now, McCarty is a winner on the PGA Tour, has a spot in the 2025 Masters and will almost certainly end the year in the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking.

He also accomplished something that hasn't been done in nearly 20 years. Back in 2005, Jason Gore earned the Three-Win Promotion (then known as the Battlefield Promotion) to the PGA Tour after his third win in July. In his fourth start after the promotion to the PGA Tour, he won the 84 Lumber Classic at Nemacolin Resort in Pennsylvania, becoming the first player to earn the Three-Win Promotion and then win that same year on the PGA Tour. It turned out to be Gore's only PGA Tour win.

With his win in Utah, McCarty becomes the second player in history -- out of 13 who have earned the Three-Win Promotion -- to win on the PGA Tour in the same calendar year after that Korn Ferry Tour accomplishment.

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Ryan Ballengee

Ryan Ballengee is founder and editor of Golf News Net. He has been writing and broadcasting about golf for nearly 20 years. Ballengee lives in the Washington, D.C. area with his family. He is currently a +2.6 USGA handicap, and he has covered dozens of major championships and professional golf tournaments. He likes writing about golf and making it more accessible by answering the complex questions fans have about the pro game or who want to understand how to play golf better.

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