Putting wiz Denny McCarthy takes clubhouse lead at Memorial Tournament
To the casual golf fan, Denny McCarthy's name might not ring a bell.
Among his peers, though, McCarthy is regarded as perhaps the PGA Tour's best putter. Rory McIlroy is among others who've heaped praise on McCarthy's putting prowess.
This weekend, McCarthy will have a chance to show the world what he can do on the greens, and off them.
He shot a 3-under 69 on Friday and was the clubhouse leader at 7-under after the morning golfers concluded.
“I've just been doing everything very solid,” McCarthy said. “I've been driving it pretty well, hitting some good iron shots, and I feel really comfortable with the putter. These greens are so good. You've got to get them started on line, and they have a pretty darned good chance to go in.”
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McCarthy isn't exactly sure how he became such a putting wizard.
“I played a lot of sports growing up,” the 29-year-old from Rockville, Maryland, said. “I can shoot a basketball pretty well. I play ping-pong pretty well. Just feel, hand-eye (coordination). I don't know what else to say besides that.”
Twice, he has led the PGA Tour in the "shots gained: putting" category. He is tied for fifth this year. After the conclusion of his round Friday, he led all players this week at Muirfield Village Golf Club in that stat.
His work on the greens has enabled him to compensate for his lack of length off the tee. He ranks 164th in driving distance (291.1 yards).
“I would like to drive it like Rory (McIlroy),” McCarthy said with a smile. “Everyone has the best part of their game. Obviously, putting is part of mine. Driving the ball is the best part of his game. I'm no slouch around the course. Putting is not the only thing I do well. Everyone brings up my putter. Yes, I'm a good putter, but I need to do good things to get to those putts.”
He has been excellent out of bunkers this week, saving par all five times he's been in the sand. When McCarthy gets it on the green, he's confident he can make the putt.
“These greens are so good,” he said. "I really like fast greens. I like greens that break a lot. I think that is an advantage for me over most guys out here.
“At my home course, Medalist, in Florida, the greens are really fast, similar to these speeds. I like when they get fast.”
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McCarthy's best putt Friday came from well off the green. His 7-iron on the par-3 No. 4 hole landed well short. But McCarthy rolled in a birdie from almost 41 feet away.
“I was just trying to get that one pretty close,” he said. “That was a bonus for that one to go in.”
McCarthy also had birdie putts of 14 and 8 feet as well as a par save from 10 on No. 5 and an 8-footer on No. 1 that prevented a double-bogey.
McCarthy hasn't won since joining the PGA Tour in 2018. His best finish this year is a tie for sixth. But he'll have a chance this weekend.
“I think I'm just a really gritty competitor,” McCarthy said. “I know what it's going to take on a hard golf course. You can't let your bad emotions get the best of you. If you have a bad hole or two and you let that linger on hard courses, it's just going to bite you even more.
“I think just understanding what these harder golf courses require. Obviously, I'm not the longest guy out here, so I need to think my way around a little bit more than some guys.”
Bill Rabinowitz is a sports reporter for The Columbus Dispatch. Contact him at brabinowitz@dispatch.com or on Twitter @brdispatch.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Memorial Tournament: Clubhouse leader Denny McCarthy is putting wiz
