No pars required: An adventurous start for Matt McCarty in the third round at Doral
Matt McCarty hits from the second tee during the third round of the Cadillac Championship PGA golf tournament Saturday, May 2, 2026, in Doral, Fla. Credit: AP/David J. Phillip
DORAL, Fla. — Matt McCarty made the start of his third round at the Cadillac Championship an adventurous one.
He missed a 12-foot birdie putt and settled for a tap-in par on the par-5 8th hole Saturday — and that was the first par of his day at Trump National Doral, after an opening seven-hole stretch that featured an eagle, four birdies and two bogeys.
He began the day with a 9-foot putt for eagle at the par-5 opening hole, and his wild beginning was underway. The rest of his opening seven holes:
— No. 2, missed 15-foot par putt, bogey.
— No. 3, made 3-foot birdie putt.
— No. 4, missed 12-foot par putt, bogey.
— No. 5, 86-yard chip stops 8 inches from hole, birdie.
Matt McCarty hits from the second tee during the first round of the Cadillac Championship PGA golf tournament Thursday, April 30, 2026, in Doral, Fla. Credit: AP/David J. Phillip
— No. 6, made 6-foot birdie putt.
— No. 7, made 4-foot birdie putt.
Going back to Friday, it was actually nine consecutive holes without a par for McCarty — who finished bogey-bogey in the second round.
He wound up shooting a round of 3-under 69, with just six pars for the day. He was at 8 under for the week going into Sunday's final round.
Matt McCarty hits from the first green bunker during the first round of the Cadillac Championship PGA golf tournament Thursday, April 30, 2026, in Doral, Fla. Credit: AP/David J. Phillip
“Kind of roller coaster early,” McCarty said. “I played really solid.”
Even with all the everything-but-pars excitement to McCarty's round Saturday, he wasn't anywhere near close to a record for the most holes to begin a round without a par.
Since the tour began keeping such records — ShotLink didn’t start until 2004 — that record belongs to Per-Ulrik Johansson, who began his first round at the 2004 Valero Texas Open with 12 consecutive non-pars. Johansson started with a birdie, then made five bogeys, then two birdies, then a bogey, then a triple-bogey, then a birdie and finally one more bogey to start his round.
McCarty started Saturday's round in 12th place, eight shots back of leader Cameron Young. His start in the third round briefly got him as high as a tie for second.
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