Matt McCarty’s final round at the Baycurrent Classic can only be described as a heater.

Playing in the second group of the final day in Japan – with nothing to lose and free-wheeling it – McCarty started solid enough, making four birdies in his first eight holes, starting on the back nine. But then he turned it on in nearly record-setting fashion, making eight birdies in a row on his second nine.

The TOUR record books were firmly in his sights until, unfortunately, they weren’t – as he hit his final tee shot of the day out-of-bounds en route to a closing bogey.

Still, McCarty, who finished tied for 14th, shot an 11-under 60 – setting the 18-hole tournament scoring record.

“It's weird to like play that well and feel like that walking off the golf course,” McCarty said. “One bad swing, one swing away from a 58 honestly – so, tough. A good day obviously.”

After going 4-under for his opening nine, he made birdie on Nos. 1-3 before hitting it to just eight feet on the par-5 fourth. He missed that eagle attempt by just one inch and said at that point, if he had made it, he felt like there was “a chance” he could have gone sub-60.

“You never really think you're going to birdie eight in a row or whatever,” McCarty said. “With three to go I was like, ‘I can get two and have a chance,’ and had kind of two kick-ins on seven and eight. Yeah, just hit it really well and played solid. It's weird to play that well and come off the course feeling like this, but yeah, good day.”

On the ninth tee, McCarty admitted he was “just a little tight” and tried to guide his tee ball too much. He thought it might have had a chance around the corner on the par 4, but he hit a tree, and it kicked left.

“Tough finish to a really good day,” McCarty admitted. “Just one bad swing but played great.”

Sunday’s 60 was McCarty’s career low round on the PGA TOUR and one off his career best as a pro. He shot 59 at the Wyoming State Open right after he turned pro, he said, and birdied the last hole to do it.

The next time the PGA TOUR is in action – in two weeks – McCarty will be the defending champion at the Bank of Utah Championship.

Talk about momentum.

“Going to Black Desert and obviously having this momentum leading into that's good based off last year. A 59 would have been a little bit better, but that's golf sometimes so it's all good,” McCarty said.