Tag: Joe Highsmith

Matt McCarty’s chance at history and more from Saturday at the 2024 Black Desert Championship

Catch up on the third-round action here.

If you don’t know the name Matt McCarty, it’s time to get familiar.

In August, McCarty became the 13th player since 1997 to earn the Korn Ferry Tour’s Three-Victory Promotion, immediately making him eligible for the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Fall. He won the Price Cutter Charity Championship in July and both the Pinnacle Bank Championship and Albertsons Boise Open in August. Following his T-63 finish at the Sanderson Farms Championship, McCarty is 19 under and the 54-hole leader at the 2024 Black Desert Championship in Utah.

The 26-year-old from Scottsdale, Arizona, bogeyed his first hole of the day but caught fire before the turn, birdieing Nos. 4-6 and 8 while adding an eagle at the par-5 seventh. The 5-under 31 put him a shot clear of Stephan Jaeger — winner of the Texas Children’s Houston Open earlier this season — at the time.

On his way back to the clubhouse, McCarty bogeyed the 10th but birdied three of his final five holes to solidify his position atop the leaderboard.

What did his tremendous season on the Korn Ferry Tour teach him?

“Simply just learn how to win,” he said. “The experience of being in contention out there, I think it’s very similar to kind of what I felt today, and honestly helped me just kind of feel a little bit calmer about it. But, yeah, it definitely all kind of builds upon itself. You know, the last three months have been great in order to kind of get to that spot. Really excited for tomorrow.”

The only player to earn the Three-Victory Promotion and win on Tour in the same season was Jason Gore in 2005 at the 84 Lumber Classic.

McCarty will start Sunday with a two-shot advantage.

Here are a few more notes from a busy day in the Beehive State.

Black Desert: Leaderboard

Big moves from The Bucket

Joe Highsmith of the United States plays his shot from the third tee during the third round of the Black Desert Championship 2024 at Black Desert Resort on October 12, 2024 in St George, Utah. (Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images)

Joe Highsmith had a tough year. Before the FedEx Cup Fall, the bucket-hat-wearing 24-year-old missed 13 cuts across 20 starts and finished inside the top 25 just three times. However, he’s found his game a bit since the fall session kicked off last month.

The Pepperdine product tied for 13th at the Procore Championship and for 55th at the Sanderson Farm Championship. And through 54 holes of the Black Desert, Highsmith is firmly in the mix.

After rounds of 66-68, Highsmith turned it to another gear on Saturday, firing a third-round 9-under 62 to jump into a tie for second at 17 under.

“It was certainly probably one of the best rounds I’ve ever played in my entire life golfing,” he told the media after signing his card. “It got pretty hard on the back nine with some crosswinds. So, yeah, I mean, feeling great about it … I’m not really trying to analyze it too much. Just kind of stay there and hopefully keep it going tomorrow.”

Streelman looks for first win in 10 years

Kevin Streelman of the United States plays his shot from the 15th tee during the third round of the Black Desert Championship 2024 at Black Desert Resort on October 12, 2024 in St George, Utah. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Kevin Streelman left TPC River Highlands in 2014 as a two-time Tour winner. When he arrived at Black Desert Resort, he was still a two-time Tour winner.

He’ll have a chance to end his 10-year drought on Sunday after a stellar 8-under 63 that included nine birdies, seven of which came on the back nine. Streelman’s 28 coming home vaulted him up the leaderboard into a tie for second and he will tee off Sunday two shots off the lead.

“I had a great warmup,” he said. “The putter felt great all week. Didn’t get off to the start I wanted to today. I was a little disappointed on what I did on 2 flipping it into the rocks and was fortunate to get out of there with a bogey. Man, starting on 7 I kind of made a decision. That’s a tee shot where you got to keep it very straight. You are rewarded if you can hit a nice drive or a 3-wood, and I just smashed a 3-wood down there and hit a great 5-wood just short, pitched it to six feet, and felt like I was off and running.”

Streelman ranked sixth in Strokes Gained: Putting on Saturday, gaining over 2.5 shots on the field. If that continues during the final round, the Duke product will be tough to beat.

Fun fact of the day

Top 10 and odds to win

Position Player Score Odds to win
1st Matt McCarthy 19 under (+160)
T-2 Joe Highsmith 17 under (+650)
T-2 Kevin Streelman 17 under (+750)
T-2 Harris English 17 under (+450)
T-2 Stephan Jaeger 17 under (+400)
6th Harry Hall 15 under (+1800)
T-7 Kurt Kitayama 14 under (+3000)
T-7 Chad Ramey 14 under (+5500)
T-7 Beau Hossler 14 under (+3000)

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Lefty Joe Highsmith pulls in front on bunched-up Puerto Rico Open leaderboard

The Pepperdine grad is angling to be the 16th left-handed golfer to win on the circuit.

There were eight golfers tied atop the 2024 Puerto Rico Open leaderboard after the first round, which finished Friday because of a weather delay Thursday.

The bunched-up leaderboard continued through the second round, as four golfers – Matti Schmid, Kevin Streelman, Rafael Campos and Ryo Hisatune – shared the 36-hole lead at the Grand Reserve Golf Club until late in the day when Joe Highsmith got to 13 under before play was suspended for darkness for a second night in a row.

The Pepperdine grad making his eighth PGA Tour start is angling to be the 16th left-handed golfer to win on the circuit.

He went out in 32 after a birdie on No. 8 and an eagle on No. 9. After a bogey on 10, he birdied Nos. 11, 13 and 14 before his day was over.

This is the first opposite-field event of the season, and in addition to the $720,000 first-place prize, the winner will earn a spot in the 2024 Players Championship, if not already eligible, as well as a two-year PGA Tour exemption.

A 4-time winner and a PGA Tour rookie are tied for lead at stormy Puerto Rico Open

The Puerto Rico Open at Grand Reserve Golf Club is the Tour’s first opposite-field event of the year.

Scott Piercy is a four-time PGA Tour winner. Joe Highsmith is a Tour rookie.

Piercy, 45, is nearly twice as old as Highsmith, 23. The duo are in vastly different stages of their career, but they’re tied for the led at the 2024 Puerto Rico Open after their 7-under 65 opening rounds.

The Puerto Rico Open at Grand Reserve Golf Club is the Tour’s first opposite-field event of the year, and Thursday’s opening round didn’t finish because of afternoon storms that rolled through the area, forcing a suspension of play for more than two hours for the afternoon groups.

The first round was suspended with 54 players still needing to complete their rounds. Play will resume at 7:20 a.m. ET Friday, with round two scheduled to begin at 7:50 a.m. ET.

Piercy and Highsmith finished their rounds in the morning and are the overnight leaders.

“I think today was a lot of progress on the mental side,” Highsmith said of his opening round. “I felt like this year I just haven’t done a great job kind of just focusing and being like clear on what I’m trying to do out there. It’s been easy to get distracted with a lot of stuff out here.”

2024 Puerto Rico Open
Joe Highsmith plays his shot from the fourth tee during the first round of the 2024 Puerto Rico Open at Grand Reserve Golf Club. (Photo: Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Kevin Streelman was 6 under thru 14 when the horn sounded for the day, and he’s tied with Brice Garnett, Garrick Higgo and Erik Barnes at T-3.

Defending champion Nico Echavarria shot 4 under in the opening round and is T-17. Aaron Wise, in his first start since the 2023 U.S. Open, shot 4 over.

The wild way that rookie Joe Highsmith back-doored his way into his season debut at Sony Open in Hawaii

Joe Highsmith’s PGA Tour season is off to a great start no matter how he plays on Thursday.

HONOLULU — Joe Highsmith’s PGA Tour season is off to a great start no matter how he plays on Thursday.

The 23-year-old rookie earned a spot in the field at the Sony Open in Hawaii on Wednesday when Aaron Baddeley withdrew from the tournament.

“I’m feeling blessed,” Highsmith told fellow rookie Jimmy Stanger. “And I got the best tee time too.”

Indeed, Baddeley’s tee time for 7:10 a.m. local time now belongs to Highsmith, first off the 10th tee with fresh greens in front of him alongside veteran Charley Hoffman and Tyson Alexander.

And to think that Highsmith, a member of Pepperdine’s national championship-winning team in 2021, was fifth alternate when he arrived in Hawaii for Tour rookie orientation. With the expanded field for The Sentry in Maui, a deeper field than usual signed up for the Sony Open this week. The field includes 54 of the top 100 and 22 of the top 50 in the latest Official World Golf Ranking, compared to just 14 of the top 50 a year ago. As a result, Highsmith was one of 12 rookies who registered for the Monday Q this week.

Sony Open: Photos

Last-minute heroics are nothing new for Highsmith. He ranked 48th on the Korn Ferry Tour points list with two events remaining before finishing T-2 and T-3 – shooting a final-round 6-under 66 in the latter and matching the day’s low score – to jump to No. 18 in the KFT points standings and punch his ticket to the big time. His Sony start marks his third career Tour start; he has yet to make a cut.

While Highsmith was the beneficiary of Baddeley pulling out, Julian Suri was not. As Monday Q’s Ryan French noted, had the Australian withdrawn 24 hours earlier, Suri would have been in the field. Suri lost to Norman Xiong in a 7-for-2 man playoff, and Xiong was the first alternate at the time.

2022 Southern Highlands Collegiate: It’s a Sooner sweep in Las Vegas

Oklahoma got an important win while one of its seniors earned a spot in the PGA Tour’s October stop in Vegas.

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LAS VEGAS — With Red River rival Texas lurking seven shots back, the University of Oklahoma men’s golf team fended off both the Longhorns and a late charge from Pepperdine to secure its third consecutive win.

As an added bonus, senior Patrick Welch will return to Las Vegas to make his PGA Tour debut in October.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had this feeling,” said Welch, who will be in the field at the Shriners Children’s Open after earning a special exemption with his individual victory Tuesday. “Ever since I started golfing, I’ve always wanted to make it to the PGA Tour. To have this opportunity means the world.”

After tapping in at the par-5 18th to post 67, putting him three clear of a five-way tie for second place, his teammates rushed onto the green to douse him with bottled waters.

“As soon as I finished out and they surprised me with the water, I’ve never had that experience before,” Welch said. “I’m at a loss for words. It was a really good feeling.”

Oklahoma’s lead waxed and waned throughout the day. Pepperdine, whose deficit was 9 shots on the first tee, made a huge move with a blistering 14 under front nine. Senior Derek Hitchner’s 30 featured six birdies in his first seven holes before he went on to card 67. Fellow senior Joe Highsmith’s 65 paced the Waves, who had an outside chance of catching the Sooners but combined to go three over from 16 into the clubhouse. They finished seven back of the champions.

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As for the rivalry? For Welch and coach Ryan Hybl, it was business as usual.

“I think every win feels the same,” Welch said. “Ever since last year we’ve been neck-and-neck. They’re a really good team and I know they aren’t 100 percent healthy, but this week they competed hard.

“To win over them, it’s nice. But it’s just another win.”

Texas would finish third, piloted by top-10 performances from juniors Mason Nome and Travis Vick and senior Cole Hammer. Hammer birdied four of his last six to jump into a tie for second place individually with Highsmith, Sooner freshman Drew Goodman, Georgia Tech sophomore Christo Lamprecht and Florida junior Fred Biondi.

Returning to competitive play for the first time since breaking his right arm was Texas senior Parker Coody, who was disappointed in his opening-round 73 but was certainly happy to be back representing the Longhorns.

“Mentally, I was pretty eager to get going,” Coody said after wrapping up a post-round driving range session. “Afterwards though I’m pretty frustrated. I just made mistakes that I usually don’t make and little things that add up to not a great score on a perfect day.”

Parker’s twin Pierceson, the 10th-ranked amateur in the Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com World Rankings, broke his arm in the same incident back in early December but didn’t travel with the team to Las Vegas.

“The doctor said he’s a couple of weeks behind me,” Coody said. “His fracture was a little bit worse than mine. Maybe he’ll be in Tucson [Arizona] in a couple of weeks.”

Coody would go on to sign for a 1-under 215, two years after claiming individual honors at Southern Highlands and earning the tournament’s inaugural PGA Tour exemption.

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Men’s college golf player of the week: Joe Highsmith, Pepperdine

Pepperdine junior Joe Highsmith won the individual title at the Western Intercollegiate after a threeway playoff lasted four holes.

Joe Highsmith earned his first collegiate victory in style.

The Pepperdine junior won last week’s Western Intercollegiate after a threeway playoff went four extra holes. The Lakewood, Washington, native made par to win at Pasatiempo Golf Club in Santa Cruz, California, defeating BYU’s Carson Lundell. San Diego State’s Puwit Anupansuebsai was eliminated after the third playoff hole.

“Joe hit it really well, he was really impressive,” said Pepperdine head coach Michael Beard. “He’s been knocking on the door a little bit and to be able to close the deal was super special.”

“That was absolute craziness. Obviously the 20-footer in the playoff was crazy,” said Highsmith of his lengthy par save on the second playoff hole. “It may not have looked like it out there, but I was definitely feeling the nerves but was able to handle it pretty well. It’s been a while since I was in that position. This was great, it means a lot to win it here, it’s really cool for me.”

Rankings: Men’s team | Men’s individual