How did Matt McCarty earn a PGA Tour card? Black Desert Championship winner's status explored

Matt McCarty earned a PGA Tour card by winning three tournaments on the Korn Ferry Tour. The Three-Victory Promotion to the PGA TOUR began before the 1997 Korn Ferry Tour season.

The path was introduced so that the top players could compete at the highest level without waiting for the next season. McCarty is the 13th Korn Ferry Tour player to have earned a PGA Tour card through the three-victory promotion.

McCarty's first Korn Ferry Tour win of the 2024 season came at the Price Cutter Charity Championship in mid-July. He won by three strokes over Tommy Gainey. His second victory came two weeks later at the 2024 Pinnacle Bank Championship. He won by one stroke over Danny Walker.

His third Korn Ferry Tour victory in the 2024 season came at the end of August at the 2024 Albertsons Boise Open. McCarty won by two strokes over Kevin Roy and William Mouw.

The 26-year-old is the first player to earn a PGA Tour card through the three-victory promotion in a single-year season after Wesley Bryan in 2016. Mito Pereira, who won three tournaments on the Korn Ferry Tour before him, won three events in the combined 2020-21 season.

Here are the 13 players who earned a PGA Tour card through the three-victory promotion:

• 2024: Matt McCarty – Price Cutter Charity Championship, Pinnacle Bank Championship, Albertsons Boise Open
• 2020-21: Mito Pereira – Astara Golf Championship, UNC Health Championship, BMW Charity Pro-Am
• 2016: Wesley Bryan – Chitimacha Louisiana Open, El Bosque Mexico Championship, AdventHealth Championship
• 2014: Carlos Ortiz – The Panama Championship, El Bosque Mexico Championship, WinCo Foods Portland Open
• 2009: Michael Sim – Ellie Mae Classic, BMW Charity Pro-Am, AdventHealth Championship
• 2007: Nick Flanagan – Henrico County Open, BMW Charity Pro-Am, Xerox Classic
• 2005: Jason Gore – Pete Dye Classic, Scholarship America Showdown, Cox Classic
• 2003: Tom Carter – Canadian PGA Championship, Price Cutter Charity Championship, Alberta Classic
• 2002: Patrick Moore – Henrico County Open, Peek'n Peak Classic, Korn Ferry Tour Championship
• 2001: Heath Slocum – Greater Cleveland Open, Visit Knoxville Open, Cox Classic
• 2001: Chad Campbell – Henrico County Open, WNB Golf Classic, Monterey Peninsula Classic
• 2001: Pat Bates – Siouxland Open, Shreveport Open, Korn Ferry Tour Championship
• 1997: Chris Smith – BMW Charity Pro-Am, Dakota Dunes Open, Cox Classic

With the recent win at the 2024 Black Desert Championship, he became the first player since Jason Gore to win on the PGA Tour in the same year after getting a three-victory promotion from the Korn Ferry Tour.

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A look at Matt McCarty's performance on the Korn Ferry Tour

The 2024 season was Matt McCarty's third season on the Korn Ferry Tour. In 2022, he played 25 events on the Korn Ferry Tour, had two top-10 finishes and finished 55th in the Korn Ferry Tour points list. In 2023, he had four top-10 finishes in 25 starts and finished 35th in the Korn Ferry Tour points list.

This season, McCarty played in 25 tournaments on the Korn Ferry Tour. He registered three wins, one runner-up finish, nine top-10 finishes and twelve top-25 finishes. He finished first on the Korn Ferry Tour points list with 2,703 points.

Let's take a look at Matt McCarty's performances in the 2024 season:

2024 PGA TOUR Tournaments

• Sanderson Farms Championship: T63 (66-71-71-72, 280, -8)
• Black Desert Championship: 1 (62-68-64-67, 261, -23)

2024 Korn Ferry Tournaments

• Bahamas Great Exuma Classic: T60 (69-72-72-78, 291, +3)
• Bahamas Great Abaco Classic: T27 (69-75-72-72, 288, E)
• The Panama Championship: T63 (70-72-74-73, 289, +9)
• Astara Golf Championship: T41 (70-65-69-68, 272, -11)
• 117 Visa Argentina Open: T26 (64-71-70-66, 271, -9)
• Astara Chile Classic: T3 (69-69-66-68, 272, -16)
• Club Car Championship: Missed Cut (75-72, 147, +3)
• LECOM Suncoast Classic: T30 (67-67-68-69, 271, -13)
• Veritex Bank Championship: Missed Cut (68-70, 138, -4)
• AdventHealth Championship: T4 (70-65-72-64, 271, -17)
• Visit Knoxville Open: Missed Cut (70-69, 139, -1)
• UNC Health Championship: Missed Cut (70-73, 143, +3)
• BMW Charity Pro-Am: T12 (65-67-67-71, 270, -15)
• Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Wichita Open: T17 (70-66-66-67, 269, -11)
• Compliance Solutions Championship: T31 (69-66-73-69, 277, -11)
• Memorial Health Championship: T20 (66-68-62-71, 267, -17)
• The Ascendant: T5 (65-68-64-75, 272, -16)
• Price Cutter Charity Champ: 1 (65-67-65-66, 263, -25)
• NV5 Invitational: T26 (65-69-63-71, 268, -16)
• Utah Championship: T2 (70-62-61-68, 261, -23)
• Pinnacle Bank Championship: 1 (69-67-67-67, 270, -14)
• Magnit Championship: T9 (70-70-68-67, 275, -13)
• Albertsons Boise Open: 1 (63-64-67-69, 263, -21)
• Simmons Bank Open: T35 (69-66-67-68, 270, -10)
• Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship: T5 (66-69-69-70, 274, -10)