Denny McCarthy Surprises with Day One Byron Nelson lead
As Day One of the AT&T Byron Nelson finished up, we ended with a surprise name at the top of the leaderboard. After firing off an -8 (63), Denny McCarthy found himself all alone after the first round was complete.
We knew that the field was a little week at the top, with Koepka being the only top 15 player in the world attending. These are the perfect opportunities for a lesser known player, or a lower ranked player to take charge. This is exactly what Denny McCarthy did.
He started off unimpressive, +2 through five holes, with four pars and a double bogey. That all changed on the par 4 6th hole, as McCarthy went on an incredible run.
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McCarthy would finish off the front nine with four straight birdies, turning in a 34 through nine. Back on track, you figure he would cool off, shoot somewhere around par on the back, and end the day a couple of shots under par.
Well, you would be wrong. McCarthy proceeded to birdie four of the first five holes on the back. This means that over a nine hole stretch, he had eight birdies. EIGHT!
He played much worse golf over the last four holes, with two pars and only two birdies (heavy sarcasm right there). A 29 on the back nine helped him to a final of 63 for the day. After being +2 through five, he managed to play the next 13 holes at -10!
After a round, we always look to see what stands out about a player, and if we could have predicted the strong play (Guess i missed him in my dark horse rankings). Pull up his PGA Tour page, and there is something that jumps out right away once you get to Strokes Gained.
Denny McCarthy is ranked 2nd in SG Putting, at .828. That’s just an incredible number. It showed on Thursday as well, as McCarthy didn’t miss a single putt inside of ten feet all day.
Heading into this week. Denny McCarthy was ranked 157th in the Official World Golf Rankings. A T9 at the Valspar, to go along with a T7 at the Sanderson six months ago were the highlights of his year so far. If his solid play continues, both of those will pale in comparison to what awaits at the Byron Nelson.
Next. Jordan Spieth: “A couple tee balls away from really having a chance to win.”. dark
With Day Two already under way down in Texas, it’s going to be an exciting week for Mr. McCarthy. a 63 is a fantastic round, and one that not many people can say they have done. Make sure to tune in later this morning to see how Day Two goes for Denny McCarthy.