As Xander Schauffele was outdueling Max Greyserman to win the Baycurrent Classic on Sunday in Japan, Matt McCarty was trying to make history.
Instead, he ended up collapsing in brutal fashion on the 72nd hole at Yokohama Country Club.
The left-hander started Sunday’s final round on the 10th hole. He shot a bogey-free four-under 31 on his first nine and then reeled off eight straight birdies beginning at No. 1. That put McCarty in position to shoot 59 with a par at the last or join Jim Furyk in the 58 club with a birdie.
The golf gods had other plans.
Standing on the tee box at the 490-yard par-4 ninth hole, McCarty seemed destined to finish his trip to Japan on a high note. Instead, he blocked his tee shot out of bounds to the left. The 27-year-old had to reload from the tee box. He found the fairway with his third, knocked his approach shot to seven feet, and rolled in the putt for a closing bogey and a round of 60, a career-best on the PGA Tour.
What could have been.
McCarty was on track to become the 16th player in PGA Tour history to shoot a sub-60 round. The last to do so was Jake Knapp in the first round of this year’s Cognizant Classic. But one poor drive ended those dreams and turned a good round sour.
“Yeah, I don’t know, just [got] a little tight [on that swing] and just kind of tried to guide it a little too much and just wiped it,” McCarty said. “[Chasing 59], I actually feel like it’s similar to being in contention. I came out of it and shoved it in the trees.
“I thought I kind of had a chance around the corner [to find the ball] but it probably hit one of those trees and kicked left. Yeah, tough finish to a really good day. One swing away from a 58.”
The 2024 Korn Ferry Tour graduate was still pleased with his round. It got him a T14 finish and moved him to 84th in the FedEx Cup Fall standings ahead of his title defense at the Black Desert Championship in Utah in two weeks. And while the blocked tee shot on the ninth hole sticks out, McCarty also looks at the missed eight-foot eagle putt on No. 4 as a reason he didn’t break 60.
“I hit it close on 4 for eagle and missed that, but I was kind of thinking if I made that I had a chance,” McCarty said. “But you never really think you’re going to birdie eight in a row or whatever. With three to go, I was like, I can get two and have a chance. I had two kick-ins on 7 and 8. I just hit it really well and played solid. It’s weird to play that well and come off the course feeling like this, but yeah, [overall] a good day.”
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