IVINS, Utah — Matt McCarty wasted no time making the most of his rookie season on the PGA Tour, as the newcomer won the inaugural Desert golf Championship in Utah with a 4-under 67 and one swing that all but sealed it.
The American professional golfer won three times on the Korn Ferry Tour to earn an instant promotion in August. In his third start on the PGA Tour, he made winning look just as easy. Staked to a two-shot lead going into the final round; he never trailed at Black Desert Resort and won by three shots.
Stephan Jaeger closed within one shot with birdies on the 14th and 15th. McCarty effectively ended any threat with a 3-wood on the 310-yard 14th that was close to perfect, bounding onto the green and settling 3 1/2 feet from the cup for an eagle.
The victory means the 26-year-old left-hander from Arizona is assured of being in three of the majors next year, Reuters reported.
He gets into the Masters and PGA Championship with his PGA Tour title, and McCarty already earned a spot in the US Open by leading the Korn Ferry Tour points list.
McCarty becomes the first player since Jason Gore to win three times on the developmental tour to earn an instant promotion and then win on the PGA Tour in the same season. He finished at 23-under 261 and earned $1.35 million.
Early in the final round, Lucas Glover and Germany’s Matti Schmid posted matching scores of 9-under 62 to rocket up the leaderboard. Glover rose to 19 under to apply pressure on McCarty before ultimately tying for third with Kevin Streelman (69). Schmid finished fifth at 18 under.
McCarty – who posted a 64 – birdied two holes on the front nine and bogeyed No 12 before reaching the 310-yard 14th hole. His tee shot took two hops before rolling gently onto the green, stopping inside 4 feet of the pin.
McCarty then went birdie-bogey-birdie over his final three holes before celebrating with his caddie and family.
The Desert Championship, the latest addition to the FedEx Cup Fall series, was the PGA Tour’s first stop in Utah since 1963.
Yin Ruoning said she had “goosebumps” after six birdies on the back nine in a spectacular final round of 64 gave her a six-stroke victory at the LPGA Shanghai, her first tour win at home in China.
The 22-year-old Shanghai native and former world No 1 finished on 25-under par, roared all the way by her hometown crowd, having begun the day one stroke behind Japan’s Mao Saigo.
“It’s amazing to be able to win at home,” Chinese No 1 Yin said according to AFP, following a victory romp over the closing nine holes that thrilled her legion of fans in her home city.
“The crowd is amazing, people shouting my name and rooting for me,” added Yin, who said she was looking to see her mother but couldn’t manage it among the large galleries.
“This tournament really, really means a lot to me and I’m just so happy I’m able to win,” she added.
At just 22, Yin now has four LPGA wins including one major – last year’s Women’s PGA Championship. Asked what comes next, she said: “We’ll see”.
Kim, another former No 1, had led for the first two rounds after a dazzling 62.
Fourth was Yealimi Noh of the United States, whose final-round 67 left her seven strokes adrift of Yin.
“My best finish of the year, so it’s been really nice,” said Noh, describing it as a “solid week”.
“I just hit it really well which was really surprising and I was grateful… because I had some back problems coming into the week,” she added.
World No 4 Yin wiped out Saigo’s lead at the start of the round, carding a birdie on the first.
