It was a good news, bad news scenario for Montgomery County native Denny McCarthy.
The good news was he finished tied for 10th at the BMW Championship – his seventh top 10 finish of the season – worth $480,600. The bad news: for the second straight year, he narrowly missed advancing to the season-ending Tour Championship which comes with many perks.
It came down to the final hole. McCarthy needed a birdie on 18 Sunday to make the top 30 in the FedExCup standings – which gains players automatic entry into next week’s Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta – but settled for bogey, an even par 70 and on the outside looking in.
Playing in the Tour Championship gets players a golden ticket into the Masters, the U.S.Open and British Open in. 2024. And a coveted exemption – for two years – on the PGA Tour.
Viktor Hovland shot a final round 61 to win the BMW at Olympia Fields outside of Chicago.
The 2022-23 season was McCarthy’s best yet. The Georgetown Prep alum set personal career highs with seven top-10 and 14 top-25 finishes and $6.4 million in earnings. His 6th season on Tour featured his best career finish (second at the Memorial Tournament) and a career low 60 (first round at the Travelers Championship) which is also the lowest round on the PGA Tour this year.
Many golf analysts think McCarthy, 30, is overdue to get his first career PGA Tour win. He is one of the best putters on tour and is one of several players being considered for selection to the U.S. Ryder Cup team. The Ryder Cup will be contested outside of Rome beginning in late September.
