The whispers began last summer. Now local golfers are asking it out loud: Is 16-year-old Denny McCarthy of Burtonsville the best junior player ever in the Washington area?
McCarthy’s already impressive resume took a qualitative leap last week when he became the first local to win the Trusted Choice Big ‘I’ National Championship, a junior tournament with past winners including Tiger Woods, Justin Leonard and Billy Andrade. This week, McCarthy qualified for the U.S. Amateur.
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The Washington area has produced several PGA players, including Fred Funk, Steve Marino and Deane Beman. But none matched the junior accomplishments of McCarthy.
“He’s such a strong-willed young man and a tough competitor,” said Randy Reed, a local golf official for 30 years. “He never gets down on himself or blames others. That’s very unusual at that age.”
A good athlete (he plays basketball at Georgetown Prep), McCarthy packs a lot of punch in his 5-foot-8, 145-pound frame. His most impressive accomplishment this summer might be his victory by 14 strokes in the Frank Emmet Schoolboy.
“He’s at a club [Argyle] that’s got a great tradition of junior golf,” said Reed. “That whole culture of Argyle being very competitive is an advantage. He also comes from a great golfing family.”
Lots of golf prodigies come and go, leveling out as teenagers, then burning out.
“I don’t think that’s possible with me,” said McCarthy. “I practice every day. I think you can always get better at something.”
