BLACK DESERT CHAMPIONSHIP

October 10, 2024

Matt McCarty

Quick Quotes

Q. What were you doing so well out there, or was it just everything?

MATT McCARTY: I mean, a lot of everything. I hit it well. I had a few short birdie putts, which always helps. But yeah, just played solid. Hitting fairways out here is very important because if not I think you're kind of re-teeing, so that was helpful. Yeah, just a fun day, and played really free, and I think that was helpful for sure.

Q. There have been a handful of guys who have had success winning on the Korn Ferry TOUR and have immediately come out here and won. Do you feel like it's not that big of a difference or a little bit of a difference but you don't have to read too much into it?

MATT McCARTY: Yeah, I think that's kind of what I was telling myself last week. I think last week helped a lot. I got off to a good start on Thursday and kind of grinded Friday to make the cut and didn't really do well on the weekend. I think going into this week having that experience definitely so recently has been helpful.

But it's the same thing. Everybody on the Korn Ferry can play at a very high level, too. So I think it's the same thing. It's still golf. You've still just got to play golf. And growing up in Scottsdale, I think it's helpful to be back in the desert, kind of feels like home, like the environment and everything. That's been real nice this week for sure.

Q. It's easy to build up mystique around the PGA TOUR after you've watched it on TV and you've watched certain players, but was there a moment where you played with someone on the Korn Ferry who had been on TOUR or a moment -- maybe at the Sanderson last week where you realized, hey, these guys put on their pants one leg at a time just like everybody else?

MATT McCARTY: Yeah, I think -- I got paired with Harris English and Kuch last week. It was very helpful. Obviously they have so much experience and success out here. It was just helpful seeing them. Neither of them were playing great, but just kind of seeing that level of golf and knowing that I can do the same thing and kind of observing that was helpful.

But yeah, I think that's the thing, too, is spending three years on the Korn Ferry, I came out here -- I came out to Sanderson, and this week it seems like I know a third of the guys just kind of from playing with them the last few years.

It's kind of similar but a little different for sure, but that's definitely kind of makes it feel a little bit more normal for me, I think.

Q. Scottsdale you mentioned; how is it similar or how is it different to this? This is pretty unusual with the black lava and stuff.

MATT McCARTY: Yeah, there's some courses in Scottsdale and Phoenix that are kind of the same thing, though. If you miss a fairway, you're never going to find it.

I think growing up with desert golf, sometimes it's tough to get your lines off the tee and you don't have trees lining the fairways so it's a little tough like that, so I think that's helpful for sure.

But yeah, kind of the dry heat, a little elevation, the ball is traveling similar. I think it's pretty similar to where we were at for the Korn Ferry in Boise this year, like same elevation, so kind of just going back to those same numbers, honestly.

But yeah, it's helpful, and just kind of feels like home. We played our high school golf in the fall like around this time every year, so it's kind of the same time of year that I would always kind of try to be playing growing up. It's nice.

Q. It's nice and cool for the fall?

MATT McCARTY: Yeah, exactly. It's a little cooler here. I was home last week or two weeks ago and it was still really hot.

Q. We're seeing this course for the first time. This fall you're going to be seeing a lot of these courses and this upcoming season. Is it nice to have a one and only fair playing advantage on this course?

MATT McCARTY: Yeah, that's kind of what I told myself this week, too, is this is probably the only time I'll be on an equal playing field to a lot of these guys going into the week. So yeah, that's definitely very nice for sure.