McCarty stays hot with 64; takes one-shot lead at Bolingbrook

Full Leaderboard:  

Pos.	Name	Scores
1	Matt McCarty (U.S.)	31-33—64 (-8)
2	Clay Feagler (U.S.)	32-33—65 (-7)
T3	Austin Squires (U.S.)	33-33—66 (-6)
T3	Dylan Meyer (U.S.)	33-33—66 (-6)
T5	Lee Detmer (U.S.)	33-34—67 (-5)
T5	Justin Doeden (U.S.)	33-34—67 (-5)
T5	Edward Figueroa (Puerto Rico)	34-33—67 (-5)
T5	Jake Scott (U.S.)	34-33—67 (-5)
T5	Lukas Euler (Germany)	35-32—67 (-5)
T5	Michael Feagles (U.S.)	32-35—67 (-5)
T5	Brandon P. Smith (U.S.)	33-34—67 (-5)
T5	Joey Savoie (Canada)	35-32—67 (-5)

McCarty stays hot with 64; takes one-shot lead at Bolingbrook

 

BOLINGBROOK, Illinois—Matt McCarty is on a bit of a hot streak. A week after winning the Wyoming Open by shooting a 22-under 188 on his way to victory, a performance enhanced by a first-round 59, McCarty kept the momentum going in the first round of the Forme Tour’s Bolingbrook Golf Club Invitational. In his bogey-free, 8-under 64 Tuesday, McCarty made four consecutive birdies to start his second nine, and that streak lifted him to a one-shot lead over Clay Feagler. Austin Squires and Dylan Meyer are two shots back with 54 holes to play.

 

What kind of day was it for McCarty, who

finished his college career at Santa Clara in June? He birdied all four of Bolingbrook Golf Club’s par-3s. “Probably the first time I’ve ever done that,” McCarty said. His only missed green of the day came at No. 2, his 11th hole of the day, and he chipped in from the rough for birdie there even with that miscue. It was one of his eight birdies.

“It was kind of a lot the same as today,” he said, comparing his opening round here with his first-round sub-60 outing in the Cowboy State. “I hit the ball really well and gave myself a bunch of opportunities on the green and got a bunch to roll in. I have a really good feel for my swing, and my distance control with a lot of my clubs has been really good.

“I’m not leaving myself in too many bad spots,” he added, “making it a little stress-free on me as much as you can out there.”

Of McCarty’s four par-3 birdies, his 18-footer at No. 13, his fourth hole of the day, was the longest. He rolled in a six-footer at No. 15, and his two front-nine birdies came from three feet (No. 4) and 12 feet (No. 8).

Feagler was having a solid day, at 4-under, with three holes to play in his round. The Californian then proceeded to finish birdie-birdie-birdie to move to within a stroke of fellow West Coast Conference alum McCarty.

The medalist at the Arizona Qualifying Tournament in April is on quite a roll. After his Q-School success at The Wigwam in suburban Phoenix, Feagler rejoined his Pepperdine teammates in winning the NCAA Championship, also in Arizona. Then Feagler turned pro, and it was on to the Forme Tour, where he tied for fifth in his debut and was runner-up the following week at the Auburn University Club Invitational. All Feagler is is 41-under in nine rounds, with everything under-par. Feagler counts a mere two scores in the 70s since turning pro and is third on the Points List.

After his 66, Squires was more than satisfied with his position through 18 holes. He made seven birdies and a bogey, with only one of his birdies coming on a Bolingbrook par-5. “I actually played the par-5s poorly,” explained Squires, noting his four par-4 birdies, with two more coming on the par-3s.

“It was a great day. I had a good finish at Jennings Mill then had a setback at Auburn,” continued Squires of his tie for 29th followed by a missed cut. “I felt like I needed to get back on track this week, and this was a great start.”

Meyer faced a more challenging wind toward the latter part of his round late in the day. “I came into the back nine and birdied the first three right off the bat. Then the wind picked up like 10 miles per hour more coming down the stretch. I felt a little like it was a sluggish finish. But I’m pretty happy having a bogey-free 66,” he said, excited to turn around and go off early Wednesday morning. “This is the way I like it—play late and then play early. That way you can keep the momentum going. The way I’m swinging right now I have a little better idea of how to keep it straighter off the tee,” he added.

Eight players are tied for fifth, three shots behind McCarty.

 

Did you know both of Matt McCarty’s two college victories came in 2018? Playing for Santa Clara, McCarty won The Farms Invitational in Ranch Santa Fe, California, defeating Cal-Riverside’s Brandon Tsujimoto by a stroke. Five months later, he was victorious at the Bayonet Amateur Championship in Monterey, California. McCarty finished the 54-hole event tied with Pepperdine’s Austin Murphy, and McCarty then prevailed in a playoff.

 

Key Information

• The field started with 156 players, representing 12 different countries or territories. Following Wednesday’s second round, there will be a cut to 60 players and ties following.
• Points List leader Philip Knowles opened with a 4-over 76 and is tied for 137th after the first round. Sam Saunders, No. 2 on the list and the winner of the L&J Golf Championship at Jennings Mill Country Club in Georgia in June, opened with a 2-over 74 and is tied for 110th.
• There were 83 under-par rounds Tuesday and 97 at par or better.
• The 22-under 188 Matt McCarty shot at the Wyoming Open earlier this month was the lowest score in tournament history. So was the 11-under 59 he put together in the first round at the Airport Golf Club in Cheyenne. After the 59 heroics, McCarty finished 64-65 over his final 36 holes to defeat Seattle’s Li Wang by six strokes, the victory easily the most lucrative of his young professional career. He pocketed $10,000.
• Austin Squires had just birdied No. 10, and with a wedge in his hand for his second shot on the par-4 11th, his approach shot bounced over the green. “That was deflating,” he said. He chipped and faced a five-footer for par. “I made the putt, so we were still on track. I then hit the fairway on 12, which is a big key because that’s probably the toughest drive on this course. After 12, I felt really relaxed and confident,” he continued.
• In 2019, doctors told Austin Squires he had a torn labrum in his hip. It was actually a hip impingement, a disorder caused when the hip joint’s ball and socket don’t fit properly together. Last year, Squires suffered a back injury and doctors discovered his thoracic spine is too restricted, causing his hips and lower back to take on a lot of the load and pressure. “Any time I play golf, I have to warm up for 30, 45 minutes to get those muscles warmed up,” Squires said.
• The threesome of Dylan Meyer, Brandon P. Smith and Kyle Westmoreland were a combined 15-under, with Meyer shooting a 6-under 66, Smith a stroke behind that and Westmoreland finishing at 4-under. “It was a great group to be with, great guys. You can’t ask for much better than guys playing good golf and being good human beings,” Meyer said.
• With a 2-over 74 Tuesday, Alex Smalley saw his streak of eight consecutive under-par rounds to begin the season come to an end. During the streak, he had five sub-70 rounds and was a combined 33-under in the two tournaments.
• George Markham recorded the Forme Tour’s third hole-in-one of the season. Markham aced the par-3 15th hole Tuesday. He joins Alex Smalley and Trevor Werbylo, who made their aces in the first and third rounds, respectively, at the L&J Golf Championship at Jennings Mill Country Club. Markham used his ace to shoot an opening 71. He is tied for 58th.
• Lee Detmer began his week with a 5-under 67, his best 18-hole score three tournaments into this Forme Tour season. He had an opening-round 68 at the L&J Golf Championship at Jennings Mill Country Club in June. That led to a tie-for-29th-finish. He missed the cut in his next start, at the Auburn University Club Invitational.
• In July, Matt McCarty won the Wyoming Open shooting a 22-under 188 in the 54-hole event in Cheyenne. The 188 was the lowest score in tournament history. So was the 59 he shot in the opening round at the Airport Golf Club. He finished 64-65 to defeat Seattle’s Li Wang by six strokes, the victory easily the largest of his young professional career. He pocketed $10,000.
• After an errant drive on No. 18 Tuesday, Justin Doeden, coming off a tie for third in his last start at the Auburn University Club Invitational, called his score on the par-4 a “good bogey.” For the day, as Doeden opened with a 5-under 67, he had one other bogey, on No. 11, coming after he made eagle at the par-5 10th. Doeden also posted five birdies. Since a 3-over 75 in the final round at the L&J Golf Championship at Jennings Mill Country Club, Doeden is a combined 25-under in his last five rounds, shooting scores of 70-67-69-62 and Tuesday’s 67.
• Justin Doeden entered this week’s tournament with a bogey-less streak of 25 consecutive holes, that started on the 12th hole of his third round in Auburn. The Minnesota native extended his streak to 35 holes before he made bogey at No. 11.
• Stepping to the tee on his 16th hole of the day—No. 7—Logan Lockwood was 6-under. An errant drive led to a double bogey-6. After two pars to finish, Lockwood closed his day with a 68 and is tied for 13th after 18 holes.

 

Quotable

“Four 2s on the par-3s definitely helped.” –Matt McCarty

 

“I feel like if you leave yourself in some good spots off the tee, it’s pretty gettable. They had a lot of those pins tucked today, so I was trying to stay on the right side of it.” –Matt McCarty

 

“If you get short-sided out of this rough, it can be gnarly at times.” –Matt McCarty

 

“I didn’t hit my driver very good early today. I was in the rough a few times, but I was able to hit it out of the rough and onto the green fairly close without getting too many crazy lies.” –Matt McCarty

 

“It was just one of those days that when you have a wedge shot you hit it close. I felt like I did everything I should do. It wasn’t like I did anything spectacular.” –Austin Squires

 

“I played well [Monday] in the practice round, and I felt like things were coming together.” –Austin Squires

 

“It was a solid day. I struck the ball well, hit my irons well and put myself in some good positions.” –Dylan Meyer

 

“Early on, I wasn’t getting as hot as I like to. I parred both of the par-5s on the front nine, but I still managed to shoot 3-under (on the opening nine).” –Dylan Meyer

 

“I came into the back nine and birdied the first three right off the bat. Then the wind picked up like 10 miles per hour more coming down the stretch. I felt a little like a sluggish finish. But I’m pretty happy having a bogey-free 66.” –Dylan Meyer

 

First-Round Weather:

Overcast and warm. High of 86. Wind WNW at 9 mph. Gusts in the afternoon reached 18 mph.