Making a Name for Himself

The Masters leaderboard is packed with players we recognize by their first name. Bryson, Rory and Scottie are just a few. Hideki, Ludvig and Victor are within striking distance. And then there is a player many might not recognize, even by his full name. 

Meet Matt McCarty, a 27-year-old Santa Clara alum who in his Masters debut fired a 4-under 68 on Friday and sits just three shots behind leader Justin Rose.

It wasn't long ago that McCarty was fighting to get one of the coveted 30 PGA Tour cards. In fact, just 10 months ago, he was winless in his third year on the Korn Ferry Tour. 

That week in Springfield, Missouri, McCarty started a run, winning three times in six starts on the Korn Ferry Tour. That earned him a promotion to the PGA Tour, and he promptly won the inaugural Black Desert Championship last October in just his third career start. A player who started 2024 ranked 430th in the world vaulted into the top 50.

There aren't any easy wins on the Korn Ferry Tour, but in Springfield, McCarty shot 25 under and won by seven. He nearly won again two weeks later, but fell two strokes in Utah. He bounced back the following week with a win in Nebraska. Two weeks later, with his Santa Clara teammate Devrath Das on the bag, and the only caddie he’s ever had, McCarty won again.

Taking full advantage of his promotion, he opened with a 62 at the Black Desert and won by two over Stephen Jaeger. Along with a $1.4 million payday, McCarty earned an invitation to Augusta. 

Yes, Ludvig Aberg was the runner-up in his Masters debut last year, but rookies typically don't fare well at Augusta National. That explains why Fuzzy Zoeller is the last rookie to slip on the green jacket, way back in 1979. He became just the third player to win in his debut, joining Horton Smith in the first Masters, in 1934, and Gene Sarazen a year later. And considering that McCarty was playing in just his 15th PGA Tour event and had gotten off to a slow start in 2025, there weren’t many expectations when he set foot on the grounds at Augusta National. 

If there were nerves heading into the first round (and there were), they didn't show. McCarty holed a 45-foot birdie chip at the 1st and chipped to 3 feet for another birdie at the par-5 2nd en route to a solid 1-under 71. However, he opened the second round with a wayward drive and had to chip back into the fairway. A poor approach spun back off the green, leading to a double bogey. 

He wasn't much better at the 2nd hole: a drive into a fairway bunker, a layup, and an approach over the green led to another 6. "I got kicked in the mouth for 45 minutes," McCarty said on Friday night. Rookies at Augusta, you know how this goes. 

Frustrated, McCarty pulled driver on 3. "It's something we agreed we wouldn't do," Das said. McCarty found the fairway but faced a delicate pitch from about 60 yards. The first pitch came nearly back to his feet, and the second ended 27 feet above the cup. His round—and perhaps weekend—hung in the balance. However, he holed the downhill, breaking par putt.

Even then, nothing McCarty did in the first three holes would make anyone think he would be T-5 by the end of the day; at that point, a made cut seemed like a pipe dream. 

But the left-hander righted the ship with some steadying pars, then rode a hot putter to reel off four consecutive birdies to complete his opening nine. On the "second” nine, as they say at Augusta, McCarty made four more birdies in a six-hole stretch. He had a three-putt bogey at the last, but only two players in the 95-man field turned in a lower score than McCarty’s 68.

From the house in Augusta he is renting with Das, McCarty was asked if he was reflective, considering just 10 months ago he was looking for his first Korn Ferry win. "No, I can't think like that,” he said. “I'm a PGA Tour winner, and the Korn Ferry Tour seems like a long time ago." 

But he was quick to add, "I think my first and second year on KFT, I was just happy to be there. I graduated from college, got through Q school and was just happy to have a place to play. I probably relaxed a little. Even though I have two years of status with the win, I don't want to relax." 

The new signature events and the reduction in the number of PGA Tour cards has made it even more difficult for players to maintain status. "I want to be playing signature events and majors," McCarty said.

The easy answer was to say that he was reflective, but instead the answer showed his growth and maturity. Reflection leads to complacency and McCarthy has learned, there is no time for that.  

On Saturday afternoon, he will tee it up with Shane Lowry, the 2019 British Open champion. Two-time Masters champion Scottie Scheffler will go off in the pairing before him. Rory McIlroy will be playing in the group behind as he tries to complete the career grand slam. Major champions Bryson DeChambeau and Justin Rose will go off last. Big names all. But McCarty seems unfazed by it all.

“Whatever happens, I will be grateful for an unreal experience," McCarty said.

By Sunday night, he might just make a name for himself.

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