ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. — Denny McCarthy has shown his velvet touch on the greens since he made a boatload of birdie putts to win the 2018 Korn Ferry Tour Championship at the Atlantic Beach Country Club near Jacksonville, earning a PGA Tour card he has retained ever since.
But on a cold, chilly day at the Sea Island Club Seaside Course on Saturday, with putts frequently blown offline on greens exposed to the St. Simons Sound, McCarthy was absolutely on fire for the first 13 holes as he rode his Scotty Cameron Golo putter to climb as high as a tie for third in the third round of the RSM Classic before falling back into a tie for 12th, seven shots behind leader Talor Gooch.
McCarthy, a Maryland native and University of Virginia graduate who is among the cadre of PGA Tour players living in Jupiter, Fla., one-putted his first eight greens and 12 of his first 13, made seven 3s in a row on the back nine of the Seaside Course (his front) and posted a 5-under-par 65 to finish at 9-under 203 entering the final round.
McCarthy set career records of 5.761 in strokes gained-putting and 157 feet, 10 inches of total putts made. He leads the tournament in strokes gained putting.
His strokes gained index was the highest on the PGA Tour since Patrick Cantlay had a 6.037 in the first round of the BMW Championship in August.
It’s not unusual for McCarthy to have a good putting day. He won the Tour’s strokes gained-putting index in his first two full seasons and was 22nd last year.
But he believes he’s been in a bit of a slump lately on the greens — despite trending upwards with three finishes of 17th or higher in his last four starts — and was grateful to watch the ball roll into the hole time and time again.
“I’ve been kind of waiting for something like that,” he said. “I’ve been playing a lot of really good golf. Usually, putting’s my strong suit. It’s actually been pretty cold lately. I feel like my ball-striking’s been really good and just haven’t really made the putts. Today I came out with a pretty light attitude, playing with a good buddy of mine, Joel Dahmen. I just had a really good picture of the shots and the putts today and I was just really relaxed. I was just having a lot of fun out there.”
McCarthy’s only slip was an errant drive into a hazard at the par-4 eighth hole, which forced him to drop just in front of the forward tees for his third shot. He eventually missed a 17-foot bogey attempt and he two-putted from 40 feet for par at the last to give himself 24 putts for the round.
McCarthy drained putts of 28-10, 31-6 and 23-7 for birdie on his front, and one of 23-2 for eagle at No. 15. He became only the third player in tournament history to shoot 29 on the back nine of the Seaside Course.
His prowess on the greens was extraordinary enough.
But to do it in the fierce winds whipping around the Seaside Course was even more impressive.
“I love the wind,” he said. “I think it was really my only chance to get back in the tournament was a day like today, cold and windy. If the conditions were calm, there’s probably no chance for me to get back in the tournament.”
McCarthy opened the round by making a 10-footer for par at No. 10 and had to make one of 9-2 for par at No. 12. His streak of one-putts and 3s on the scorecard ended when he missed a 15-footer at No. 9, but he bounced back with his final birdie at the first hole, of 11-10 and got up-and-down for par on the next two holes.
At that point, McCarthy had 13 putts in 12 holes and was threatening to become the 13th player in Tour history to make 18 putts in one round, the lowest on record. He two-putted the next three greens but was more than happy with the overall performance.
“I’ve been struggling a little bit … maybe being a little too technical for me,” he said. “I like to pick spots and free it up and kind of see stuff to putt around. Today with the wind, you’re playing some wind more than break. I was just having fun. I was trying to be really decisive and committed and I did a really good job of that today.”
McCarthy has been getting notoriety for his putting prowess and has gotten shout-outs from NBC Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee. McCarthy is trying not to let it go to his head.
“Maybe over the last year I’ve maybe put a little too much pressure on myself, you know, getting frustrated when I do have a good ball-striking round and I miss a handful of 10- to 15-footers,” he said. “Golf can be frustrating like that. I think I got into too many expectations for myself — ‘man, I should be making that putt, I’m one of the best putters out here.’”
“I think it is nice to have that, people respect me for that, but at the same time I need to just go out and put my head down and do it and not worry about the results,” he continued. “If I just trust in my process and not worry so much about the results, good things are going to come my way.”