McCarthy places second at Memorial Tournament, falls in playoff

By Harry Farley
JerryRatcliffe.Com correspondent

Virginia alumni Denny McCarthy fell on Sunday in a playoff to Viktor Hovland at the PGA’s Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village GC in Dublin, Ohio. McCarthy finished 7-under for the tournament and lost to Hovland on the first playoff hole after his par putt lipped out.

McCarthy shot a 2-under 70 in the final round, knocking in decisive pars on Nos. 12, 15 and 16 to hold onto the lead, which he held for most of the round Sunday. Yet McCarthy bogeyed No. 18 and entered a playoff with Hovland. His par putt on No. 18, the first hole of the playoff, missed, and Hovland sank his par putt to secure the win.

The Memorial is one of the more noteworthy events outside of the majors and is a PGA Tour newly designated event, thanks to its nickname as Jack’s Tournament – Jack Nicklaus founded the event and presents the winner with the trophy every year.

Hovland made a late push, birdieing No. 17 on a long putt for the first birdie there all day. In doing so, McCarthy will earn around $2.1 million, more than a fourth of his career winnings.

McCarthy gained 2.87 strokes putting, which was first in the field for the tournament; his putting is a strong suit of his, as he led the entire tour in 2022 in strokes gained putting.

McCarthy clearly likes Memorial. Last year, he finished tied for fifth at 6-under, one of his best finishes. Entering Memorial, he had one third-place finish, five top-five finishes, and 18 top-10 finishes – now he adds a second-place finish to his resume.

“Heartbroken right now, but a lot of positives to take from this week,” McCarthy said. “These are the events that I feel like I thrive in…I’m a gritty grindy competitor that never gives up…I’ll be back.”

A member of the class of 2015, McCarthy had an illustrious career at Virginia and led the Cavaliers to an 18th-place finish in his senior year. Additionally, his 21 top-10 finishes at Virginia rank fourth all-time in program history.

Despite not winning, McCarthy’s game again is heating up and he continues to knock on the door for his first win.

McCarthy’s second-place finish caps off the end of a great week for Virginia golf. Freshman Ben James won the Phil Mickelson Award for the nation’s top freshman golfer, while the Cavaliers advanced to the match-play portion of the NCAA Championships for the first time in program history. Despite falling to Florida in the Quarterfinals, the season and future for Virginia is extremely bright. Both McCarthy and Virginia golf have a lot to be proud about moving forward.