Matt McCarty moves from Korn Ferry to the Masters after winning his first PGA Tour title in Utah

IVINS, Utah (AP) — Matt McCarty started the year on the Korn Ferry Tour and is now headed to the Masters, where he won his first PGA Tour title with a 4-under 67 on Sunday at the Black Desert Championship. Result and a blow won that anything but sealed it.

McCarty won the Korn Ferry Tour three times, securing immediate promotion in August. In his third start on the PGA Tour, he made victory look just as easy. With a two-shot lead going into the final round, he never trailed at Black Desert Resort, winning 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, near-perfect 14th, leaping onto the green and settling 3 1/2 feet from the cup for an eagle.

The win means the 26-year-old left-hander from Arizona is assured of playing in three of the majors next year. His PGA Tour title takes him into the Masters and PGA Championships, and McCarty has already secured a spot at the US Open by topping the Korn Ferry Tour points list.

McCarty is the first player since Jason Gore to win three times on the Developmental Tour to secure immediate promotion and then win on the PGA Tour in the same season. He finished at 23-under 261 and earned $1.35 million.

“I don’t know how you can expect that,” McCarty said. “It's just a lot of fun. I worked really hard. This year was great for me. It was great to get here a little earlier and get some experience, and of course now too.

“The last few months have just been crazy for me.”

McCarty didn't have much stress – he can attribute that to some nice lag putting – except for the one brief moment when Jaeger made a late move.

On the sunny day in southwest Utah, all potential challengers largely went the other way as the Beehive State hosted a PGA Tour event for the first time in 61 years.

Joe Highsmith, playing in the final group, made a double bogey on the first hole. Harris English had three bogeys on the front nine, which offset three birdies and kept him from making a move. Jaeger, who went neck-and-neck with Scottie Scheffler to win the Houston Open in March, managed just one birdie on the first nine.

McCarty raced ahead by three shots and didn't drop a shot until he three-putted from 55 feet below a ledge on the 12th hole. And then when Jaeger holed a 5-foot birdie putt on the 13th and hit the 14th green for a two-putt birdie that was within one, McCarty answered.

He hit a draw with his 3-wood, stared at it and said, “Turn!” It did, as he landed short of the green and slowed down the grain until he was almost within reach. Jaeger, who was two groups ahead of him, had three straight birdie putts that destroyed the rim of the cup.

Jaeger closed with a birdie on the par-5 18th for a 68 and finished alone in second place.

“I gave myself a chance,” said Jaeger. “I didn't drive well enough to give myself shorter clubs and enough birdie opportunities. But sometimes you do. I made some nice putts, so I'm happy with that.”

Lucas Glover shot 62 and tied for third place with Kevin Streelman, who had a great chance, even if he didn't have a serious chance of winning. The FedEx Cup case is largely about players finishing in the top 125 to retain full PGA Tour cards for 2025.

Streelman came into the game ranked 177th and every shot counted. He slapped his thigh in anger when he missed a 6-foot birdie putt on the 16th hole, and then he watched as his wedge hit the pin on the par-3 17th and bounced off the green. He managed to save par and birdied the 18th for a 69.

That moved him up to 138th, a little closer to 125th, with at least four tournaments left in the fall.

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