Matt McCarty Is Draining 220 Feet of Putts and Nobody's Catching Him at Truist

Weather shut down the Truist Championship in Charlotte on Thursday, but not before Matt McCarty put on a putting clinic that left the rest of the field in the dust. The 28-year-old fired an 8-under 63 to take the lead, and honestly, the guy was basically playing a different course than everyone else.

McCarty birdied his final three holes to get to 8 under, but the real story is what happened from 150 feet out. He made a ridiculous 220 feet of putts in a single round, the most anyone on tour has made this season. We're talking a 52 1/2-footer for birdie on the par-3 13th. A 60-footer on the par-4 16th. Another 52-footer at the par-3 17th. That's not golf, that's magic.

The Rest of the Field Still Has Time, But McCarty Set the Bar High

South Korea's Sungjae Im is closest to the lead at 7 under after he eagled the seventh hole to climb the leaderboard. But he's still one shot back heading into Friday. The tournament got suspended due to inclement weather with 20 of the 72 golfers still finishing their opening rounds, so plenty of the field could yet make a move.

A handful of players are bunched at 5 under, including Canada's Nick Taylor, England's Harry Hall, Denmark's Nicolai Hojgaard, Norway's Kristoffer Reitan, and defending champion Sepp Straka of Austria, who was still on the course when play halted. Tony Finau, David Lipsky, Canada's Corey Conners, Tommy Fleetwood, and Alex Fitzpatrick are all at 4 under after rounds of 67.

This Is McCarty's Moment to Seize

For context, McCarty won his only PGA Tour title at the Black Desert Championship back in October 2024, right after he got promoted from the Korn Ferry Tour. At 28, he's still building his resume, and a victory at a signature event like this would be huge for his career trajectory. Rory McIlroy, a four-time winner at Quail Hollow, opened at 1 under, so there's no dominant name running away with it yet.

When play resumes Friday, McCarty will have the target on his back. But after a day like that with the putter, the guy's got to feel like he can make any putt from anywhere on the green.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.