No pars required: An adventurous start for Matt McCarty in the third round at Doral
TL;DR
Matt McCarty had an adventurous start to his third round at the Cadillac Championship in Doral, Florida, featuring an eagle, four birdies, and two bogeys in the first seven holes. He made a tap-in par on the 8th hole after missing a 12-foot birdie putt.
Key points
- Matt McCarty played at the Cadillac Championship in Doral, Florida.
- He started with an eagle and had four birdies in his first seven holes.
- He made a par on the 8th hole after missing a birdie putt.
Mentioned in this story
DORAL, Fla. — Matt McCarty made the start of his third round at the Cadillac Championship an adventurous one.
He missed a 12-foot birdie putt and settled for a tap-in par on the par-5 8th hole Saturday — and that was the first par of his day at Trump National Doral, after an opening seven-hole stretch that featured an eagle, four birdies and two bogeys.
He began the day with a 9-foot putt for eagle at the par-5 opening hole, and his wild beginning was underway. The rest of his opening seven holes:
— No. 2, missed 15-foot par putt, bogey.
— No. 3, made 3-foot birdie putt.
— No. 4, missed 12-foot par putt, bogey.
— No. 5, 86-yard chip stops 8 inches from hole, birdie.
— No. 6, made 6-foot birdie putt.
— No. 7, made 4-foot birdie putt.
Going back to Friday, it was actually nine consecutive holes without a par for McCarty — who finished bogey-bogey in the second round.
He wound up shooting a round of 3-under 69, with just six pars for the day. He was at 8 under for the week going into Sunday’s final round.
“Kind of roller coaster early,” McCarty said. “I played really solid.”
Even with all the everything-but-pars excitement to McCarty’s round Saturday, he wasn’t anywhere near close to a record for the most holes to begin a round without a par.
Since the tour began keeping such records — ShotLink didn’t start until 2004 — that record belongs to Per-Ulrik Johansson, who began his first round at the 2004 Valero Texas Open with 12 consecutive non-pars. Johansson started with a birdie, then made five bogeys, then two birdies, then a bogey, then a triple-bogey, then a birdie and finally one more bogey to start his round.
McCarty started Saturday’s round in 12th place, eight shots back of leader Cameron Young. His start in the third round briefly got him as high as a tie for second.
Q&A
What was Matt McCarty's performance in the third round at Doral?
Matt McCarty's third round included an eagle, four birdies, and two bogeys in the first seven holes.
How did Matt McCarty start his day at the Cadillac Championship?
He started with a 9-foot putt for eagle at the par-5 opening hole, setting an adventurous tone for his round.
What happened on the 8th hole during Matt McCarty's round?
On the 8th hole, he missed a 12-foot birdie putt and settled for a tap-in par.
