Denny McCarthy lines up a putt on the second green during the first round of the U.S. Open golf tournament. — Photo courtesy of John David Mercer/USA TODAY Sports

Former Cavalier Denny McCarthy Finishes 7th at U.S. Open

The former UVA All-American golfer shot four-under-par on the final two days of the U.S. Open

Author:
Matt Newton
Publish date:
Jun 20, 2022 12:46 PM EDT

After a rough three-over-par start on Thursday, former UVA All-American golfer Denny McCarthy rallied with two strong rounds on Saturday and Sunday to notch a seventh-place finish at the U.S. Open this weekend at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts.

McCarthy's previous top finish at the U.S. Open was tying for 42nd in 2015 at Chambers Bay in Washington. After going +3 in the opening round on Thursday and turning in an even par 70 on Friday, McCarthy found himself tied for 55th on the leaderboard.

In the third round, McCarthy birdied two holes on the front nine and two on the back nine to go along with a pair of bogeys to move back to +1 heading into the final day. McCarthy birdied three out of the first five holes to thrust himself into the top ten as the tournament's leaders hovered around -5. A bogey on the 9th hole and a birdie on the 12th left McCarthy just a few strokes back from the leaders. McCarthy held par on five consecutive holes before an unfortunate bunker shot resulted in another bogey on the 18th hole as he finished the U.S. Open in a tie for seventh with Adam Hadwin and Keegan Bradley at -1. McCarthy finished just five strokes behind the US Open Champion Matt Fitzpatrick.

McCarthy did not go home empty-handed, earning $515,934 for his seventh-place finish. He also won a pair of clubhouse competitions at The Country Club this weekend. As evidenced in the background of Matt Fitzpatrick's Twitter post celebrating his win, McCarthy won the free throw contest with seven consecutive makes on the mini basketball hoop in the clubhouse and is also listed at the top of the power rankings for the U.S. Open ping pong competition.

Clubhouse dominance aside, Denny McCarthy delivered a superb performance out on the course at the 2022 U.S. Open and his seventh-place finish has earned himself an exemption for the 2023 U.S. Open next June.

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