Dan McCarthy built a two-shot lead and then held off a charging Scottie Scheffler to win the Savannah Golf Championship with a 16-under total. McCarthy left the door open when he missed a 12-foot birdie putt on the par-5 18th hole, but Scheffler missed a six-foot birdie putt of his own that could have forced a playoff. McCarthy rolled in a short par putt to cap off a final-round 69 and his first win in 45 starts on the Web.com Tour.

“I was almost crying after that putt went in,” said McCarthy, who moves to No. 8 in The 25 standings. “Scottie and Tim (Madigan) both came up and gave me a hug, I almost teared up.” 

McCarthy started Sunday’s final round 13-under and tied atop the leaderboard with Scheffler and Tim Madigan. The momentum started to turn on the 10th hole, as McCarthy took a one-stroke lead when he made birdie and Scheffler bogeyed to drop to 14-under. 

A birdie on No. 13 moved McCarthy to 16-under and pushed his lead to three over Scheffler. Three holes later, the score was tied after Scheffler birdied Nos. 14-16, his fourth streak of three or more birdies this week. The deadlock was short lived, however, as Scheffler failed to save par from the bunker on the par-3 17th and walked to the closing par 5 facing a one-shot deficit.

With McCarthy safely in the fairway short of the green in two, Scheffler lined up his second shot and flared his 4-iron high and right – a miss he said he fought all day – and found the greenside bunker. Moments later, McCarthy hit a wedge to 12 feet and kept the pressure in Scheffler’s corner.

Scheffler’s bunker shot for eagle scared the hole, producing a near-miss reaction from hundreds in front of the Deer Creek clubhouse, and left him with a six-foot putt for birdie. 

“He hit a ridiculous bunker shot that made my heart leap out of my chest,” McCarthy said. “I thought that was going in and then I thought I had to make mine for a tie.” 

Neither McCarthy nor Scheffler made their birdie putts, which meant McCarthy's three-footer for par earned him a spot in the winner's circle. 

“You don’t know that you can do it until you actually do it out here,” McCarthy said. “It’s been a slow start to the year. I’ve played pretty well but I just really couldn’t get the putter going. And finally this week it just all opened up. It means the world.” 

For Scheffler, the runner-up finish was his third top-10 in seven starts this year and he improved to No. 9 in The 25 standings. 

“I really enjoyed myself, it was nice to be in contention out here it was a lot of fun,” he said. “It was a good battle, (McCarthy) just hit the ball a lot better than I did today. I was kind of playing from behind all day, not really putting myself in good spots. I was able to have a chance at the end, which gives me some confidence going forward.” 

Madigan, the third co-leader after 54 holes, closed with a 1-over 73 and finished T7. Three players tied for third at 14-under: Kevin Lucas, Brett Coletta and Brian Campbell.

SUNDAY NOTES:
* Sunday's weather: Mostly cloudy, high of 73, winds W/SW 8-18 mph.
* This week's purse is $550,000, with $99,000 going to the champion.
* With the win, Dan McCarthy jumped 111 spots in The 25 standings to 8th.
* McCarthy led the field in par-4 scoring at 12-under for the week.
* With the victory, McCarthy became the fifth first-time winner on the Web.com Tour this season.
* McCarthy held at least a share of the lead each round of the tournament.
* Scottie Scheffler earned his best Web.com Tour finish of the season with a solo-second.
* Scheffler had one streak of four birdies in a row and three streaks of three birdies in a row throughout the tournament. He led the field in birdies for the week with 28.
* Monday Qualifier Will Zalatoris birdied his final two holes to finish T12 and earn a spot in the next Web.com Tour event, the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail Championship (April 18-21).
* Timothy Madigan finished T7 despite only hitting 43/72 greens in regulation.
* Jamie Arnold, who finished T9, had the low round of the day with a 7-under 65.
* Forty-two former Web.com Tour champions competed in the field, combining for 56 total victories.
* Hardest Hole (cumulative): Par-4 No. 10 (+0.232) - 46 birdies, 118 bogeys, 15 double bogeys
* Easiest Hole (cumulative): Par-5 No. 3 (-0.376) - 15 eagles, 206 birdies, 24 bogeys
*The Landings Club – Deer Creek Course Scoring Average:

                                             Front                    Back                     Total                     Cumulative

R1                                        35.045                  36.853                  71.897

R2                                        35.144                  36.150                  71.294                   71.566

R3                                        35.282                  35.782                  71.064                   71.419

R4                                        35.462                  35.897                  71.359                   71.404

For highlights from today’s round, or any 2019 event visit http://bit.ly/webcom2019video