The Maryland native talks home support, consistency without a win, and chasing his first trip to East Lake.
We’re good. Okay. We’d like to welcome Denny McCarthy to the interview room here at the 2025 BMW Championship. Denny, it’s kind of a home game for you, but you just said you’re not staying at home this week. Just uh explain that for us. It’s just a little too far away. Um hour with no traffic and as we all know from this area, there’s always traffic. So, um it would just be a little too much time in the car. So, staying a little closer to here. Um little bit more of a normal feel of a tournament week. Um, but it’ll still be very special to have a lot of family and friends out this week and um, looking forward to the opportunity. This is your fourth consecutive start at the BMW Championship. Um, how proud of you are you of making it here again this this year season? Yeah, I’m very proud of um, how I’ve fought this year. I wouldn’t say I wouldn’t say I’ve played my best golf. Um, but I’ve I’m proud of how I’ve fought to get to this point. Um, I’ve had some good flashes this year for sure. Um, I think I’ve continued to get better and my floor, um, my floor has raised, my ceiling has raised. Um, and I I feel like I’ve done a good job of, um, scraping out some weeks where I haven’t had my best stuff. I might have made the cut on the number maybe by one and uh, clawed out a good weekend and a decent finish. I feel like I’m, you know, I pride myself in never giving up and, um, I did a good job of kind of hanging tough this year and, um,, you know, I feel like I’ve played pretty solid actually the last few weeks. So, feel like I’m coming into here with some good form and obviously some uh, some good vibes being here in Maryland and looking forward to, you know, having a home crowd behind me. Before we take some questions, just uh, have you had much experience at Caves Valley? What’s your thoughts on this golf course? Yeah, I think it’s going to be a good challenge this week. Um, you know, I’ve probably only played here three or four times and last time I played here was 8 years ago and obviously it’s a it’s a totally new golf course. So, um, it’s a new golf course for everyone. Um, there’s no advantages. It doesn’t seem like like anyone might have from four years ago. So, um, yeah, they they definitely, you know, they put precision air in the green, so they’re trying to make them a little firmer, and it seems like, you know, they have have a lot more slope in them than what they previously had. And there’s a lot of humps and bumps. So, um, and it’s they lengthened it. They took out a couple parfs and made them long par4s and stretched some of the par 3es out. So, it’s going to be a good test. Um, you know, I’m not a super long hitter. I’m long enough. Um, but you know, my four, five, six iron, even maybe even into my fivewood are going to be tested some this week. And so I’ve made sure I’ve gotten a few extra reps on the range with those clubs and on the course. And um, yeah, I I think, you know, you know, I feel like I can play well any any any week at any course. So, um, game feels good and looking forward to the challenge this week. All right, if you have a question, just raise your hand and we’ll get a microphone to you and we’ll start over here with Doug. No. Sevenwood. No, sevenwood. Um, my fivewood’s kind of it goes about the the distance of other guys 7wood. So, similar. Had two questions and I’ll be promise I’ll be I’ll be brief, but it would have taken a lot for you not to make it here starting at number 39. Did you almost look at Memphis and this week as almost a twoe test to try to get to where you want to be? Yeah, it’s uh, you know, felt like I had a free roll at it, you know. Um, it’s really hot last week. I I tend to struggle in in severe heat. Um I sweat a lot and it’s it’s a little bit of a process for me to get dry to hit a shot. But uh so Memphis has always been a really tough week for me. Um I really like that golf course. It it’s suits my game well. Um yeah, I didn’t play that bad last week. I just didn’t, you know, I had had a couple bad holes that bit me throughout the week. Um made a triple, which is unlike me. I typically don’t make doubles and triples very often. And so, um, I didn’t really play that bad outside of a few holes. Um, and, uh, yeah, this week is, you know, I would have liked to have had a really good week last week and maybe had a a bit more of a free roll this week, but, um, you know, it’s still a good accomplishment for me to be here this year. Um, top 50, you know, in a way is kind of like a a new tour championship. I wouldn’t say that’s my goal. My goal is still to make it to next week. Um, but you still get a lot of things being in the top 50. Um, and I think I just got to go ahead and put my head down this week and try and play the best I can. I don’t know what the numbers say. Um, I’m going to go try and go win the golf tournament. Um, and you know, if you hang around there, that that usually will, you know, that’ll take care of it for me for next week. The other thing, Denny, is is good golf usually does the job whether you win at 8 under or win at 30 under. Is there a need to make it as hard as possible? Are you saying this course in general or kind of in the in the whole kind of postseason as we go along? Is there is is it important to have like the absolute bar is your best friend? I don’t I mean it there you start flirting with a fine line. If you try and make it as hard as possible, well then like you know then it can cross the line and get silly. Um you know we’re talking you’re talking about the best players in the world. You want to make it challenging but fair. You don’t want to cross the line of making it silly just to make it, you know, really really hard. Um I think last week is a is a really good tournament golf course. The fairways were narrow. Um they had the Bermuda rough up. There was a penalty for missing the fairway for sure. Um they put new greens in, firm Bermuda greens, so coming out of the rough, it was hard to keep it on the green. Um so it put a premium on driving it straight. So, I I thought last week was a great test for, you know, just a tournament golf course. This week’s going to be a good test, too. It’s soft. They seems like they brought the fairways in. They tried to make the greens firmer with the precision air. Um I I think that these are, you know, these are good tests. Um I don’t think, you know, it’s hard to make it um impossible for us. like, you know, Oakmont’s pretty close to, you know, that that’s kind of seems that’s the typical, you know, US Open type of golf course that everyone wants to see us suffer on all the time. Um, you know, and it’s hard to get that for us, but you also I’m sure people love seeing the top players in the world suffer, but um, you know, I I like a golf course that’s challenging but fair. You know, last week kind of reminds me of the players. Um, and like to me that’s a really good tournament golf course as well. Yes, ma’am. Denny, you talked about playing this year and how you felt. Can you pinpoint some of those times this year where you felt like you were playing your best and how can you channel those moments into this weekend? Um, I think yeah, I’ve gotten on to some really good feels the last few weeks. I’ve just kind of put my head down and tried to, you know, focus on what I need to do to get better over the last couple weeks. And I’ve done a really good job of that. Kind of trying to stack days of feeling like I’m getting better. Um, it’s really hard to to do sometime. Sometimes it’s pretty easy to have a couple good days and then you have a day where you’re like, well, what happened? I felt like I was, you know, trending in the right direction. You know, I kind of slipped off today. Um, but I feel like I’ve done a pretty good job of staying pretty consistent with my routine and um, the feels in my golf swing to feel like I’m continuing to stack a, you know, a little bit better day after better day. Um, there’s a couple times I played really well this year. I mean, Genesis um, at at Tory Pines, I didn’t think Tory Pines was really a good golf course for me. I haven’t played the Farmers in in four or five years. Um, and then when I got moved to, uh, Tory, I was kind of like, “Oh, great. Um, I haven’t played here in forever.” And, you know, it seems like I’m going to have to add Farmers this year because I I I had a good week there. Um, but yeah, that’s kind of what I was alluding to earlier. I feel like when I do play well, I can play well at any type of golf course. I might, you know, 5 years ago that place might not have suited me very well, but um, I’ve kind of become a different player in the last four or five years. Um, I’ve gotten a lot better. still feel like I can get a lot better. So, just kind of focusing on trying to get better. That’s that’s what drives me. Um I like working hard. I like the journey. I like the process. Um to try and see how good I can get. Right. Anything further? Everybody got that they need? No. One couple more Doug right in the front. Go ahead. Um, what would it mean if you were to be able to qualify for the Tour Championship at, you know, a course that’s so close to where you grew up? I think it would be really special. Um, I’m I’m going to have a home crowd here this week. I’m going to have a lot of family and friends. So, um, to be able to do that in front of them would be I mean, it would be incredible. I’ve, you know, I’ve I’ve come to this event over the last three years, basically coming down to the final round of this event where if I play a really good round of golf, I qualify for the tour championship. And I just quite haven’t done that. I’ I’ve played some solid rounds, but not just just kind of missed out on the tour championship the last three years. So, it’s been it’s been a little frustrating um for sure, just cuz I feel like I’ve had some good seasons and it comes down to the last round. Um, but it’ll be nice, um, you know, when I have that chance on Sunday, um, you know, to have some some support behind me and, uh, maybe they can push me across the finish line. Okay, we’ll wrap it up with Adam. What does it say about your game that you’re able to get to this tournament pretty consistently without having a win? Yeah, I think kind of just alluding to what I was talking to earlier about, you know, I think my floor of my game has gotten a lot higher um to where when I don’t play my best golf, I can still make cuts and scratch out good weeks. You know, when my game gets off, I’m not missing the cut by seven or eight. I’m I’m still able to make cuts and find a way to have a decent week still. Um yeah, it’s tough. It’ be nice to have a win and get 500 points and jump a big way. I haven’t I’ve I’ve kind of done it chunk by chunk by chunk um you know here and there to to get to I don’t know how many points I have a thousand something um yeah so you know uh it it’d be nice to have some wins and you know make it make it a lot easier on myself to make it to East Lake but I guess you could say I’ve kind of done it the hard way but um yeah I don’t know I just I I think I’m I’ve become a much more consistent player here week in and week out. Um I’m maybe haven’t given myself the chances to contend to win tournaments as much as I would have liked to this year. Um but I’ve still had a lot of solid weeks. Um and I feel pretty good about how I’ve prepared over the last couple weeks coming into this week. So I’m looking forward to challenge and opportunity again. Is there anything you’ve learned or can learn from seeing Cam Young break through and and then and then Tommy Fleetwood come so close again and and still not getting that much? Yeah, I mean Cam’s obviously a very talented player. I’d love to be able to drive it 360 on a string like him. I don’t I don’t quite do that. Um no, he’s obviously on a roll uh at Windham a couple weeks ago. That was that was cool to see. It was only a matter of time matter of time for him to break through with, you know, he hits the ball a mile. His putting is is very good. This year, I think it was underrated in the past. I’ve played with him at home a couple rounds where I thought he’s he’s a good putter, but people were kind of knocking him on that and, you know, he seemed to make everything at Windham. So, it was kind of see his game kind of, you know, all come together in that one week and kind of lap everyone at at Sedgefield. Um, what was the second part of your question? Sorry, Tommy. I mean, not getting Yeah, I mean, it’s it’s hard out here. It’s not that easy. I mean, I don’t know how many starts it took for Cam, but I mean, you know, it seems like he could have won a couple tournaments here and there over the last few years. Um, you know, we’re playing, it’s not that easy to go up against, you know, the Scotty Shefflers of the world, the Xander Shaw plays, all these guys. These guys are really, really good at golf. And it takes, um, you know, trying to trying to get my game closer to that level to where I can compete more often and contend more often. It’s just playing against the best players in the world, it’s not that easy to just show up and shoot 20 under every week. Go ahead, Doug. way out in left field here. Kind of a local question for a guy that doesn’t even know what city is in right now, but your development as a junior player through did do you do like a AJA circuit nationally or did you rely mostly on on Maryland’s I did. Yeah, I played a lot of Maryland State Golf Association, Mid-Atlantic Golf Association. um pretty much all through my junior career and I I did play some age AGA but it wasn’t until late in my high school career basically. It was kind of my junior year of high school going into senior year of high school is I started playing some AJ AJ events but I didn’t play a ton. I I played a lot locally. Um and I was pretty successful in this area. I won a decent amount of tournaments and felt like it was, you know, the right thing to do to go test it on a national stage and um, you know, see what I could do there and feel like I had some good events and that gave me some good confidence knowing that I could, you know, I was competing with, you know, the Jordan Speaks and the Justin Thomas’ guys that were in my class. Um, I was just kind of a little later to the party, I guess. Was this enough Maryland and Mid-Atlantic? Was it enough to For me it was. Yeah. I mean, I I you know, I I loved getting I I got up to play these tournaments like I do nowadays. You know, I was really excited. I I got nerves before I played Maryland amits, Maryland match play tournaments, um junior tournaments, you know, it it’s it was good preparation. It was um you know, and it got to the point where I feel like, you know, people would consider me as the favorite. I kind of had a target on my back. I felt a little pressure. It was fun to go out for me and kind of perform under under that pressure. And so it’s no different than, you know, the pressure of trying to win a tournament out here or even trying to make a cut down the stretch. You know, you’re you’re you feel similar nerves and comes down to, you know, executing shots, controlling your emotions. Um, you know, really locking in, seeing small targets, and going. But when you when you first went on to a kind of a national stage, uh, as a as a junior, was that an eye openener to you? Do you remember seeing anybody that’s like, well, this guy’s got something I don’t? Not not really. I think it was more confirmation that I was, you know, on a good path because when I took it to that national stage, I was I was competing right away and I was towards the top of a lot of those leaderboards. I won, you know, I lost in the I played I had played a couple US juniors previously, but I, you know, lost in a semi-finals of a US junior. I won the junior PGA the week after that. Um, I came close in a couple AJ events. So, you know, when I my first couple AJAS and and big tournaments, I was I was right there having chances to, you know, compete to win. So, um you know, it was good confirmation for me. It was a booster, you know, okay, yeah, I’m I’m definitely on the right path. Um I’m at a good spot in my career. Um how do we keep getting better? All right, everybody. Thank you. Thanks, Danny. Appreciate your time. Good luck. Appreciate it. Thank you.
