Matt McCarty has propelled himself to a top-tier position at Augusta National after a remarkable streak. The 27-year-old started Thursday with a fantastic opening round that took him within the top 10 at one point before he eventually settled on even par. However, Friday didn’t start so well for the Masters debutant as he opened with a double bogey on holes 1 and 2.
McCarty Responds To Setback With Consecutive Birdies
The American started the day one-under but dropped down to two-over and was at risk of falling below the cut line after his double bogey. But the 27-year-old did well to recover with four consecutive birdies to round out the first nine. With this, McCarty avoided the cut line and moved into a tie for eighth.
The debutant started with an opening one-under 71 and impressed with stunning consecutive birdies at the sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth holes. McCarty was unable to repeat the trick at the par-four 10th despite having a 10-foot putt for three.
The 27-year-old missed the cut at the 2022 U.S. Open and had only played in one major before this Masters. However, he has put himself in a good position in the top tier of the Masters after his stellar streak of four consecutive birdies. McCarty fell short of breaking the record for the most consecutive birdies at the Masters at the par-four 10th. The record for most consecutive birdies at the Masters is seven, held by Tiger Woods and Steve Pate.
McCarty off To Great Start at Masters
McCarty recorded his first PGA Tour victory at the Black Desert Championship in October 2024 before following it up with a top-20 finish at The Players Championship last month. This is the 27-year-old second championship start and his Masters debut.
The Arizona-born golfer shot a 71 on Thursday and started out today six-over-par through six holes. McCarty shot three birdies in the blink of an eye and then carded four birdies on the spin, hole 6 through 9, and is in the red again for his day’s work, at -2 for the Tournament. The 27-year-old who earned a place in the field for the 2025 U.S. Open by winning the Korn Ferry Tour’s season-long points race, will have to wait and see how other golfers perform to know where he would end up on today’s Masters leaderboard.
Although McCarty remains an outsider to win the Masters on his debut, his performances so far have caught the eyes of fans and observers. He won the season-long points race and the Player of the Year award with three wins and nine top-10 finishes on the Korn Ferry Tour last year. McCarty also won events in Missouri, Nebraska and Idaho in a period of 35 days between July and August last year.
Main Photo Credit: © Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images
