Matt McCarty spent his time on the Korn Ferry Tour, making 75 starts over a three-year period from 2022 to 2024. It wasn’t until a few months ago, in July, that McCarty took his first win. And then he won again in August. And then a third time two weeks later.
That third victory earned him a rare promotion to the PGA Tour’s battlefield, but McCarty played out the year at Korn Ferry to secure the No. 1 in the points race during the season to earn exemptions to the 2025 Players Championship and the US Open.
But the 26-year-old pro lost some time before winning the big tournament. In just his third career start (and second of the season) McCarty won the inaugural Black Desert Championship in Utah two weeks ago.
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It got him into the Masters, garnered a ton more press and got him to sit down for a few media interviews as he tries to unpack his whirlwind week in Utah. One of those came with Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz on GOLF’s Subpar podcast. McCarty joined this week to talk about his win, the after party, what he learned in three years at Korn Ferry and more. He also answered an important question: After so many years on the development tour, what benefit does he enjoy on the PGA Tour?
“I think the courtesy car is the best thing,” McCarty said. “You just get off the plane and you have something ready for you, and you can just pick it up and not have to deal with the Avis app or wait in line, I think that’s great.”
McCarty said his first experience with it was in 2022, when he qualified for the US Open in Brookline, Mass.
“I grabbed my bags and there’s just one kid there and he’s like, ‘Here’s your new Lexus for the week,'” McCarty said. “I’m fine sweetie this will work.”
Of course, McCarty can buy his own Lexus these days. He won $1.35 million in Utah.
“Yeah, that’s crazy,” he said. “One of the first things I was asked right after the tournament was, ‘How does this change things for you?’ Honestly, first of all, financially, a lot. I made the same amount of money in one week that I made in three years on Korn Ferry, and that was solid growth for three years and a lot of good golf too. So that part is crazy.”
Although asked if he’s made any big purchases so far, McCarty said he sticks to the essentials.
“We’ve done a lot in the football season so far this year,” he said, “so I’m going to get a new sofa and spend some time in the next few weekends.”
You can listen to the entire podcast hereor see Video on YouTube below.
