01버디 폭포수 예고된 엘 카르도날, 대니 매카시의 명품 퍼팅에 주목

PGA 투어의 대표적 분석 콘텐츠인 '드로 앤 페이드(Draws and Fades)'가 이번 경기가 열리는 엘 카르도날(El Cardonal) 코스에서의 활약 기대 선수로 대니 매카시(Denny McCarthy)를 지목했다.

엘 카르도날 코스는 많은 타수를 줄여야 하는 이른바 '버디 축제'가 펼쳐지는 장소로 알려져 있다. 이에 따라 그린 위에서 찬스를 놓치지 않고 타수를 줄여줄 수 있는 정밀한 퍼팅 능력이 이번 승부의 핵심으로 떠오르고 있다.

대니 매카시는 PGA 투어 최고 수준의 퍼팅 실력을 자랑하는 선수다. 그의 탁월한 퍼팅 감각은 버디 기회가 쏟아지는 엘 카르도날의 코스 환경과 완벽한 조화를 이루며 이번 대회에서 강력한 경쟁력을 발휘할 것으로 기대된다.

02Original (English) — PGA TOUR

The first round of the World Wide Technology Championship has been suspended due to darkness. However, the event hasn't disappointed. There are birdies all over the course, as we've come to expect.

If you aren't 4 under or better after the first round, it almost feels like you're sinking and need a lifeline. It's crazy to say that after just one round, but the scoring average during the morning wave was 2.95 strokes under par. Even as conditions became a little more difficult in the afternoon, the field still averaged roughly 2.5 strokes under par for the day.

The first-round lead belongs to Chris Kirk (+650), who fired an impressive 9-under 63. It's his first opening-round lead since the 2025 FedEx St. Jude Championship, where he shot a 6-under 64. It was also his best opening round on the PGA Tour since the 2017 RSM Classic, where he opened with another 9-under 63.

The good news for all the golfers who aren't particularly close to Kirk at the top of the leaderboard is that there's still plenty of really good golf to be played.

Looking at the forecast for the second round, we're expecting clear skies with occasional wind gusts between 10 and 20 mph. As far as coastal golf is concerned, that's pretty ideal weather, especially considering how difficult El Cardonal at Diamante can play when the wind picks up.

That said, if you're interested in betting round-score unders or total birdies made, I think those markets are worth exploring.

For now, I'm going to dip my toe into the placement markets with a strategy that I've grown to love. I'm looking for birdie makers who either didn't have their best stuff on approach or struggled with the putter during the opening round.

More specifically, I want golfers who traditionally putt well but didn't have their best day on the greens Thursday.

I say that because, if you look at the leaderboard, a lot of pretty good putters are near the top: Kirk, Matthieu Pavon (+3300), Harry Hall (+1300), Taylor Montgomery, Beau Hossler (+2200) and Max Greyserman (+3500). The list goes on.

It's a collection of really good putters, which reinforces the notion that this course suits players who can get hot with the flatstick. I almost think you could blindly bet on good putters who didn't have a great opening round and find yourself in a pretty good position.

As I started looking through the best putters in this field, the majority were already inside the top 30 because they gained strokes putting Thursday.

That made finding a really good putter who struggled on the greens a bit harder than I expected. But I found two golfers who fit the bill, starting with Bauchou (+3300).

Bauchou fired a 5-under 67 and currently sits T17 despite losing strokes putting. His performance was carried by gaining nearly three strokes on approach and more than three strokes tee to green, one of the best marks in the field.

I wouldn't say Bauchou is the best putter in this field, but he's certainly better than average, or at least has shown that ability throughout his time on Tour.

Looking at his recent results, you can see where he's capable of producing some pretty significant spikes with the putter. He was one of the best putters in the field at the Corales Puntacana Championship, and we saw similar performances at the 3M Open and Wyndham Championship.

His putter cooled down considerably at the VidantaWorld Mexico Open, but it looks like he's slowly working his way back toward baseline.

And even when the putter hasn't fully cooperated, his recent finishes suggest he can still make a serious run at this tournament.

He finished T9 at the Baycurrent Classic, T13 at the Bank of Utah Championship, narrowly missed a top 20 at the Biltmore Championship Asheville and finished T14 at the Wyndham Championship.

Outside of his missed cut at VidantaWorld, he's been downright unflappable, even when the putter isn’t hot.

That's what makes this spot so interesting. If Bauchou can maintain his ball-striking numbers and simply get his putter back around baseline, there's a legitimate opportunity for him to make another run at the top of the leaderboard.

And it's funny to even call it a bounce-back opportunity when we're talking about someone who shot 5 under in the opening round.

At plus-money, I'll gladly take my chances on Bauchou finishing inside the top 20.

Is there a better putter on Tour than Denny McCarthy (+8000)? I really don't think there is.

McCarthy grades out fifth in this field over his last 24 rounds, but everyone knows his claim to fame is what he can do with the flatstick.

So imagine my surprise when I saw that McCarthy lost 1.77 strokes putting during the opening round, according to Data Golf.

Naturally, when McCarthy loses nearly two strokes putting, you'd expect him to be way down the leaderboard. But that wasn't the case.

His round was carried by gaining three strokes on approach, and honestly, sitting T29 probably feels like a blessing considering he couldn't make anything on the greens Thursday.

I typically prefer backing McCarthy in the top-40 or top-30 markets, but at +184, there feels like some pretty good value on his top-20 market.

Especially because when we're dealing with golf courses that aren't dominated by bombers, McCarthy has made a career out of hanging around the top of the leaderboard.

What he hasn't had in quite some time is a really hot set of irons.

However, dating back to last week, McCarthy has been excellent on approach. At VidantaWorld, where he finished T23, he gained three strokes on approach. And judging by Thursday's performance, his irons are still pretty sharp.

Funny enough, Vidanta Vallarta isn't even a particularly good course fit for McCarthy.

Now we're heading into three more rounds at El Cardonal, a golf course that seems tailor made for golfers who can putt well.

That's where things get interesting.

McCarthy has gained roughly three strokes on approach in each of his last two tournaments, and now we're talking about one of the best putters on the PGA Tour coming off a round in which he lost nearly two strokes on the greens.

I have a hard time believing that trend continues.

I actually think McCarthy is a fun little sprinkle at +8000 to win outright. I know winning isn't necessarily in the cards from his current position, but you can back that up with his top-20 placement and have a little fun cheering him on this weekend.

Because I genuinely believe there's going to be at least one round over these next three days where McCarthy makes a serious push up the leaderboard.

If his irons stay this sharp, it's hard to imagine his putter won't eventually come along for the ride.

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