The way 17-year-old Denny McCarthy is playing, he’ll hate to see the summer end.
On Tuesday, just five days removed from capturing the biggest title of his career, the Junior PGA Championship, McCarthy shot a 14-under-par score of 63-65 – 128 to lead Washington to a record-breaking win in the Williamson Cup.
Playing at Essex Country Club in Windsor, Ontario, McCarthy of Burtonsville was a runaway winner, by seven shots, in the individual competition. Teammate Jordan Sweet of Bowie (66-69 – 135) was the runner-up. D.C. also got stellar play from Keagan Boone of Bethesda (71-67 – 138).
The trio led Washington to a final score of 25-under-par (401) and a 24-stroke victory. Both are Williamson Cup records. It was the largest winning margin since the tournament went to a stroke-play format in 1968. The previous mark was set by Massachusetts (19 strokes) in 1982.
It was the sixth Williamson Cup title for Washington. The event was created in 1964, with junior golfers representing east coast cities, and has grown to include teams from Canada and the Midwest. Four-man teams play 36 holes, with the three lowest stroke-play rounds counting toward the team score.
McCarthy had no problem warming up in his morning round, making four birdies on the first five holes. After 14 holes, McCarthy had eight birdies and no bogeys.
It was the second straight individual title in the event for McCarthy, a senior at Georgetown Prep who will play at Virginia in the fall of 2011. Last year at famed Cog Hill in Rochester, N.Y., McCarthy shot a 137 to win by two strokes over Gavin Hall of Rochester. Hall, 15, made a splash this summer with a record 62 at the U.S. Junior Amateur. Last week, Hall played in the PGA Tour’s Turning Stone Championship.
McCarthy, a member at Argyle Country Club, will play in the U.S. Amateur for the second straight year, Aug. 23-29, at Chambers Bay, Wash.
