Matt McCarty is the latest player to stamp his place at The Masters after a whirlwind year.
The left-hander began 2024 on the Korn Ferry Tour and then won three times to earn Three-Victory Promotion to the PGA Tour.
Now he is a winner on the main PGA Tour after a three-shot success at the Black Desert Championship.
The 26-year-old opened with a 62, followed it with laps of 68 and 64, and closed with a four-under 67 which was helped by a tap-in eagle at the 310-yard par-14th.
There is lots to enjoy about the set-up of his Ping bag but the stand-out club is probably his five-year-old fairway wood.
McCarty still uses a Ping G410 3-wood which produced the key shot at the 14th.
297 yards to 3 feet @MattMcCarty21 sticks it on the drivable par-4 14th @BDChampionship. pic.twitter.com/ZggL7fBHmn
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) October 13, 2024
Supposedly, Ping’s tour players found the previous G400 fairway created too much spin so the centre of gravity was lowered but, with a new adjustable hosel, there was an increase in loft range to +/- 1.5°, plus three flat lie options, and McCarty remains a big fan of the club.
“I’ve had this thing for a while – it’s probably one of the last lefty 410s that we got, so hopefully this thing hangs on for a while,” McCarty said.
“I don’t like changing 3-woods too much. I feel like once you find something, I feel like it’s a unique club. Just kind of go with what you want.”
The rest of his bag is more conventional with a Ping G430 LST driver and G430 Max 7-wood while he has the Ping Blueprint S irons and Glide Forged Pro wedges.
In his wedges he has ‘Butter Fingers’ stamped on his 50˚ wedge to remind him of a strange happening earlier this year.
“I got ‘Butter Fingers’ stamped on my 50-degree. I dropped my club on the ball, got a shot penalty in a Korn Ferry event in Sarasota this summer, so my caddie thought it’d be funny to put ‘Butter Fingers’ on it, so that’s where we’re at, we haven’t dropped it since, I guess that’s good mojo.”
His putter is a custom Ping PLD Tyne centre-shafted mallet.
“This thing is nice. I’ve got a PLD, got some rust on it, adds some character. This has been great. Switched to centre shaft probably three years ago, have gone through some different putters, but the weight of this and the feel of the deep milled face is a little softer….got the rust on it, shows I actually practise I think.”
As for the run which has seen him rocket to 47th in the world, McCarty is still pinching himself.
“I don’t know how you can expect this. It’s just a lot of fun. I’ve been working really hard. This year was great for me. To get out here a little early, to get some experience was great and obviously this now. It’s just been a crazy last few months for me.”
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