Dan McCarthy wins first Web.com Tour title at Savannah Golf Championship

SAVANNAH, Georgia– Dan McCarthy built a two-shot lead and then held off a charging Scottie Scheffler to win the Savannah Golf Championship with a 16 under total. McCarthy left the door open when he missed a 12-foot birdie putt on the par-5 18th hole, but Scheffler missed a 6-foot birdie putt of his own that could have forced a playoff. McCarthy rolled in a short par putt to cap off a final-round 69 and his first win in 45 starts on the Web.com Tour.

“I was almost crying after that putt went in,” said McCarthy, who moves to No. 8 in The 25 standings. “Scottie and Tim (Madigan) both came up and gave me a hug, I almost teared up.”

McCarthy started Sunday’s final round 13 under and tied atop the leaderboard with Scheffler and Tim Madigan. The momentum started to turn on the 10th hole, as McCarthy took a one-stroke lead when he made birdie and Scheffler bogeyed to drop to 14 under.

A birdie on No. 13 moved McCarthy to 16 under and pushed his lead to three over Scheffler. Three holes later, the score was tied after Scheffler birdied Nos. 14-16, his fourth streak of three or more birdies this week. The deadlock was short lived, however, as Scheffler failed to save par from the bunker on the par-3 17th and walked to the closing par 5 facing a one-shot deficit.

With McCarthy safely in the fairway short of the green in two, Scheffler lined up his second shot and flared his 4-iron high and right – a miss he said he fought all day – and found the greenside bunker. Moments later, McCarthy hit a wedge to 12 feet and kept the pressure in Scheffler’s corner.

Scheffler’s bunker shot for eagle scared the hole, producing a near-miss reaction from hundreds in front of the Deer Creek clubhouse, and left him with a six-foot putt for birdie.

“He hit a ridiculous bunker shot that made my heart leap out of my chest,” McCarthy said. “I thought that was going in and then I thought I had to make mine for a tie.”

Neither McCarthy nor Scheffler made their birdie putts, which meant McCarthy's 3-footer for par earned him a spot in the winner's circle.

“You don’t know that you can do it until you actually do it out here,” McCarthy said. “It’s been a slow start to the year. I’ve played pretty well but I just really couldn’t get the putter going. And finally this week it just all opened up. It means the world.”

For Scheffler, the runner-up finish was his third top-10 in seven starts this year and he improved to No. 9 in The 25 standings.

“I really enjoyed myself, it was nice to be in contention out here it was a lot of fun,” he said. “It was a good battle, (McCarthy) just hit the ball a lot better than I did today. I was kind of playing from behind all day, not really putting myself in good spots. I was able to have a chance at the end, which gives me some confidence going forward.”

Madigan, the third co-leader after 54 holes, closed with a 1-over 73 and finished T7. Three players tied for third at 14 under: Kevin Lucas, Brett Coletta and Brian Campbell.