SEAN MCCARTY

Coralville | Inducted 2019 | Category: Professional golfer

Sean McCarty grew up in West Branch, IA, and attended the University of Iowa, where he led the Hawkeyes to their first Big Ten Title in 1992.

McCarty has qualified for three major championships in his career, the 2003 U.S. Open at Olympia Fields CC in Chicago the 2018 PGA Championship at Bellerive CC in St. Louis and the 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills in Tulsa.  Known around Iowa for his prodigious length off the tee, McCarty, at the age of 45, registered the fastest club-head speed on the PGA Tour while competing at Bellerive. He has also played in over a dozen Web.com and PGA Tour events over the past two decades.

One of the things that sticks out about McCarty to his peers is how humble he is about his golf talents. Fellow Brown Deer PGA pro Brian Wernimont said, “Sean’s talent on the course is only surpassed by his level of humbleness off it.  In eight years of working side by side he has never once boasted about his playing abilities and, in fact, downplays how good he truly is. He is a true champion that lets his play on the course speak for him”.

Prominent amateur golfer Jon Olson said, “Since I have been competing, Sean is the best player I have played with in Iowa.  What impresses me the most is how he carries himself on and off the course. He is always calm and collected. He makes everything look easy, but there is no ego, no boasting or cocky attitude.  Instead, he is true to what matters most to him – simply working hard and loving the game”.

McCarty currently works as the Director of Golf at Brown Deer Golf Course in Coralville, Iowa.

Career Highlights

  • Three-time Iowa High School State Individual Champion, led West Branch to three Iowa High School State Team Championships.
  • Four-year letter winner at the University of Iowa, would win four individual collegiate titles and help Iowa to eight team titles during his career.
  • In 2016 he became the first golfer inducted into the University of Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame.
  • In 1995 McCarty earned the Iowa Golf Association Player of the Year award.
  • He was named as an All-American by the NCAA in 1995.
  • He has earned Iowa Section Player of the Year honors ten times.
  • Has qualified for three major championships in his career – the 2003 U.S. Open at Olympia Fields CC in Chicago, the 2018 PGA Championship at Bellerive CC in St. Louis and the 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills in Tulsa.
  • He has won four Iowa Opens (1997, 2005, ‘08, ‘13).
  • He has won four Herman Sani Tournaments four times (2007, ‘08, ‘10, ‘16).
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