Denny McCarthy

ELIGIBILITY: The first 50 players on the OWGR for Week 21, 2024.]

He played competitively on the junior golf circuit at age 10, finding great success on the MAPGA junior tour. McCarthy played collegiate golf at the University of Virginia and finished his final season in 2014-15. Before Virginia, he played high school golf at Georgetown Prep. I was a guard on the high school basketball team. Won the 2010 Junior PGA Championship. Named the 2010 All-Met Player of the Year. In 2010, he represented the USA at the Junior Ryder Cup. Won the Maryland Open in 2010 as a 17-year-old, the youngest player to claim the title in its 89-year history. AJGA first-team All-American. Won the Maryland State Amateur and Maryland Open in both 2013 and 2014. Made the semifinals of the 2014 U.S. Amateur. They also qualified for match play in 2010 and 2011. He played in 2009 but did not advance to match play. He was named to the 2014 USA World Amateur Team, which won the title in Japan.
With the Cavaliers, he was a four-time All-ACC team member. Second-team All-American in 2014 after being honorable mention in 2013. Finished 6th at the 2014 NCAA Championships and finished 29th in 2015. Was 2012 ACC Freshman of the Year.
McCarthy played in the 2015 U.S. Open as an amateur, finishing T-42nd, and turned professional shortly after. He played in his first PGA Tour event as a professional on a sponsor exemption at the 2015 Shriners Hospital for Children Open, missing the cut. Later in the year, he got his Korn Ferry Tour card when he finished T-9th at Q-School.
2016 Korn Ferry Tour Summary: Tournaments Entered - 21; Rounds Played - 72; In Money - 15; Top-10 Finishes - 3; Scoring Average - 69.97 (Rank 39th); Regular Season Money - $114,357 (Rank 45th); Playoff Money - $2,530 (Rank 112th); Priority Rank - 117; Best Finish - T-6th Air Capital Classic, T-7th Ellie Mae Classic & T-9th Lecom Health Challenge.
2017 Korn Ferry Tour Summary: Tournaments Entered - 23; Rounds Played - 81; In Money - 18; Top-10 Finishes - 4; Scoring Average - 69.93 (Rank 28th); Regular Season Money - $109,856 (Rank 43rd); Playoff Money - $63,105 (Rank 15th); Priority Rank - 25; Best Finish - T-5th Utah Championship, T-8th Mexico Championship & T-9th Albertsons Boise Open. Secured his PGA Tour card for the 2018 season with a 12th-place finish on the 2017 Korn Ferry Tour Finals money list (excluding the 25).
2018 Notes: Played in 22 PGA Tour events, making 13 cuts with one top-ten finish. He was 149th in the FedExCup standings. He was 4th at the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship, six shots back of winner Brice Garnett. His next-best finish was T-18th at the FedEx St. Jude Classic. Went to the Korn Ferry Finals and was T-5th at the Nationwide Children's, T-9th at the Albertsons Boise Open, and won the Korn Ferry Tour Championship. With his victory, he finished 1st on the 2018 Korn Ferry Tour Finals money list, earning exempt status on the PGA Tour for the 2019 season and a spot in the 2019 Players Championship.
2019 Notes: Played in 28 PGA Tour events, making 16 cuts with two top-ten finishes. It was 111th on the FedExCup points list. He was T-7th at the Sanderson Farms Championship and T-9th at the Valspar Championship. In the FedExCup Playoffs missed the cut at the Northern Trust.
2020 Notes: He played in 23 PGA Tour events, making 18 cuts and four top-ten finishes. He was 73rd on the FedExCup points list. He was T-9th in back-to-back starts at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open and Houston Open. He was T-8th at the RSM Classic and T-9th at the Wyndham Championship. In the FedEx Cup playoffs, he was T-49th at the Northern Trust.
2021 Notes: Played in 30 PGA Tour events, making 17 cuts with three top-ten finishes. It was 100th on the FedExCup points list. T-6th at the Sanderson Farms Championship, five shots back of winner Sergio Garcia. He was T-4th at the Bermuda Championship, three shots back of the Brian Gay/Wyndham Clark playoff. He was T-3rd at the Honda Classic and shot 67 in the final round. In the FedExCup playoffs, he was T-71st at the Northern Trust.
2022 Notes: Played in 29 PGA Tour events, making 22 cuts with five top-ten finishes. It was 37th in the FedExCup rankings. He was T-10th at the RSM Classic. Shot 68-67 at the American Express over the weekend to finish T-6th, four shots back of winner Hudson Swafford. He finished T-5th at the Memorial Tournament, seven shots back of winner Billy Horschel. It was his first top-five on Tour since the 2021 Honda Classic. Finished T-7th at the U.S. Open, his first career top-10 in his sixth major championship start. Was T-6th at the John Deere, five shots back of winner J.T. Poston. In the FedExCup playoffs was T-20th at the FedEx St. Jude and T-28th at the BMW Championship.
2023 Notes: He played in 30 PGA Tour events, making 24 cuts with eight top-ten finishes. It was 33rd in the FedExCup rankings. Shot a final round 67 to finish T-6th at the Bermuda Championship, three shots back of winner Seamus Power. He finished T-4th at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, four back of winner Justin Rose. It was the best result on Tour since the 2021 Honda Classic (T-3rd). He was T-8th at the Wells Fargo Championship. He lost to Viktor Hovland on the first hole of a playoff at the Memorial Tournament, earning his first career runner-up on the PGA Tour. He moved inside the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time following the week. He continued his good play with a T-20th at the U.S. Open, T-7th at the Travelers Championship, and T-6th at the John Deere. In the FedExCup playoffs was T-66th at the FedEx St. Jude and T-10th at the BMW Championship. In the fall he was T-5th at the RSM Classic.
2024 Notes: Lost in a playoff to Akshay Bhatia at the Valero Texas Open, finishing runner-up on Tour for the second time in his 174th start. He entered the final round trailing Bhatia by four shots before closing with seven consecutive birdies for a 9-under 63 to earn a spot in the playoff, the second of his career (fell to 0-for-2). Required 92 putts for the week, becoming the second player in PGA Tour history with 92 or fewer putts in a 72-hole event (92/David Frost/2005 RBC Heritage). He was T-6th at the Wells Fargo and T-7th at the John Deere Classic.