PGA Tour newbie Matt McCarty leads Black Desert Championship

Playing in just his second PGA Tour event, Matt McCarty fired a sparkling 7-under-par 64 Saturday to grab a two-shot lead over four golfers at the Black Desert Championship at Black Desert Golf Course in Ivins, near St. George.
McCarty, a 26 year-old left-hander from Arizona, stands at 19-under 194 going into the final round of the first regular PGA Tour event played in Utah in 61 years.
The four golfers at 196 include three PGA Tour winners — Harris English, Kevin Streelman and Stephan Jaeger, along with Joe Highsmith, who had the low round of the day with a 62.
Englishman Harry Hall is two more strokes back at 198.
McCarty recently received a three-victory promotion from the Korn Ferry Tour, where he ranked No. 1 this year. Last week, McCarty finished in a tie for 63rd place at the Sanderson Farms tourney in Mississippi.
After starting Saturday’s round with a bogey, McCarty went 6-under on a five-hole stretch from No. 4 to No. 8 with four birdies and an eagle at No. 7 from 50 feet.
English is a four-time winner on the PGA Tour and Ryder Cup player in 2021 and Streelman has won twice on the Tour, while Jaeger got his first victory earlier this year.
Former BYU golfer and PGA regular Zac Blair shot a 1-under-par 70 Saturday and stands in a tie for 59th place heading into Sunday’s final round.
Blair, a former Utah State Amateur and Utah Open champion, was the only one of nine players in the tournament with Utah ties to make the 36-hole cut.
Eighteen year-old amateur Kihei Akina, a senior at Lone Peak High School, was on the verge of making the cut at 4-under-par 138 after two rounds. However, after second-round play was completed early Saturday morning, the cut came in at 137 and Akina just missed out.