2026 Truist Championship leaderboard: Matt McCarty sets pace with putting, Rory McIlroy short of career first

The left-handed McCarty was in a league of his own Thursday in Charlotte

Patrick McDonald

May 7, 2026

8:27 pm ET

•

6 min read

Getty Images

After more than two inches of rain fell at Quail Hollow Club between Wednesday evening and Thursday morning, players took to the golf course around noon ET to begin the 2026 Truist Championship with Matt McCarty ultimately setting the early pace. The PGA Tour sophomore soared to new heights in the first round, thanks to a red-hot putter, carding an 8-under 63, good for a one-stroke lead over Sungjae Im.

The first round was suspended at 7:10 p.m. due to inclement weather in the area with just a handful of groups left on the golf course.

"Been playing some good golf for the last few weeks," McCarty said. "... I wasn't hitting it that great early, but you make a bunch of 50-plus footers and it kind of gets your day going. Hit it a lot better on the back nine and nice to get a few coming home for sure."

McCarty rolled in putts from everywhere in Round 1, tallying a total of 220 feet of makes. Those connections came in the form of birdies on No. 13 (52 feet), No. 16 (59 feet) and No. 17 (52 feet). With those makes alone, the left-hander became the first player in the ShotLink era to hole three putts longer than 50 feet in a single round. Six more birdies flew onto his scorecard as well and were offset by just a single bogey.

> On the very next hole... 😅

ANOTHER long range birdie putt drops for Matt McCarty https://t.co/11h2Ceg0DQ pic.twitter.com/bfEyyZ8GzM

— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) May 7, 2026

"I spent a lot of time the last couple [of] days lag putting on these greens because you know you're going to have a lot of club in and not be as close as normal," McCarty said. "I guess that kind of paid off. Honestly, I felt like they were a little too quick for me, so I think this rain slowed 'em down to a perfect amount."

While McCarty made everything, four-time tournament champion Rory McIlroy could not buy a putt for most of his first round. The Masters champion remained patient, however, cruising to a relatively stress-free opening 70 to put him seven strokes off the early pace.

"I wasn't frustrated; I was hitting good putts," McIlroy said. "Some days they just don't want to go in. ... I over-read a couple on the front side. Then, I underread a couple as a reaction to the overreads. I was just sort of trying to -- it was more of a read thing than -- I was starting the ball on my line and hitting good putts. I just needed to figure out the reads a little bit better. But sort of felt like I got into it by the end of the round."

Although McIlroy's Northern Ireland flag was not among them, European flags littered the first page of the leaderboard. Reigning champion Sepp Straka stands at 5 under alongside his Ryder Cup teammate, Nicolai Højgaard, as well as PGA Tour rookie Kristoffer Reitan and Harry Hall.

Tommy Fleetwood was one worse with his 67, which was matched later in the evening by the newest PGA Tour member, Alex Fitzpatrick, who continues to ride the momentum from his Zurich Classic victory.

Leader

1. Matt McCarty (-8): When you make 220 feet of putts, that is going to be the headliner, but McCarty was more than just his putter in the first round. While three of his birdies came from outside 50 feet, five of his other six came from inside 5 feet, showing his ball-striking was in form. One approach shot of particular interest was McCarty's second into his final hole, the par-4 9th. Standing in the middle of the fairway, he struck a pearl with a fairway wood only to find out the group in front of him was still around the green. Luckily for McCarty (and those in front), his ball settled inside 3 feet from the pin.

"I feel really bad about that," McCarty said. "Like, just didn't see those guys. ... You never want to hit into anybody, but I'm glad I didn't push it and actually hit somebody and that I hit it to a couple feet. It was a good finish, but yeah, maybe just moving a little fast with the storm coming in and didn't take that extra second to look. But I guess it is what it is. I hope they aren't too upset with me."

> if you've ever dreamt of playing PAST the group in front of you, Matt McCarty's finish was for you:

-was 243 yds out on the par-4 9th

-the green was clear, so he hit

-stuck 7-wood to 2 feet

-had "no idea" the group ahead was still chipping

-and hadn't reached the green yet

-they… pic.twitter.com/6zUiraL2rY

— Dylan Dethier (@dylan_dethier) May 7, 2026

Contenders

2. Sungjae Im (-7)

T3. Kristoffer Reitan, Nick Taylor, Harry Hall, Nicolai Højgaard, Sepp Straka (-5)

T8. Corey Conners, Tommy Fleetwood, Alex Fitzpatrick, David Lipsky, Tony Finau (-4)

Through the first three months of his rookie season, Reitan had just one top-20 finish (PGA National). With some experience under his belt and his feet und