TUSLA, Okla. – When the best golfers on the planet descend on Southern Hills Country Club this week for the PGA Championship, University of Iowa alumnus Sean McCarty will be among their ranks. The 1995 Iowa graduate is one of 20 PGA Professionals from around the United States who qualified for the Major championship.
For the second time in his career, McCarty emerged from a field of over 28,000 PGA Professionals to compete at the PGA Championship. The former Hawkeye tied for sixth at the PGA Professional Championship in April, shooting two-under par (281) through four rounds at Omni Barton Creek in Austin, Texas, to advance.
McCarty previously qualified for the 2018 edition of the USPGA, where he finished three-over par through 36 holes at Bellerive Country Club. McCarty also tied for 77th at the John Deere Classic in 2018, finishing two-under par after 54 holes.
The first of McCarty’s three Major championship appearances came in 2003 at the US Open. At age 49, McCarty is the oldest competitor in this year’s field who had to qualify on the golf course. He is set for a 12:41 p.m. (CT) tee time Thursday, paired with Nicolai Hojgaard and Justin Harding.
McCarty was a member of the 1992 Big Ten Championship team at the University of Iowa and was a 1995 All-American. A three-time state champion at West Branch High School, he is a member of the University of Iowa Letterwinners Club Hall of Fame and the Iowa Golf Hall of Fame. He is currently the head PGA Golf Professional at Brown Deer Golf Club in Coralville, Iowa.