OK then, so there is definitely something spectacularly weird going on in the great state of Utah whenever the PGA Tour visits. In the southwestern corner of the state, in the city of Ivins, in the shadows of the Red Mountains, on a golf course that winds through corridors of black lava rock, black magic is afoot.
Black Desert Resort has hosted an event for two years, and it has produced two winners who hadn’t even used up their first allotment of free golf balls.
On Sunday, Michael Brennan won the Bank of Utah Championship in appallingly routine fashion, firing a final round five-under 66 to beat Rico Hoey by four shots, defying belief, if not decorum. Brennan, 23, was in the field on a sponsor exemption after completing a three-win season on the PGA Tour Americas. Basically, he was biding his time while preparing for a full season on the next step up the ladder, the Korn Ferry Tour, but apparently decided, “to hell with that,” and won in just his third tour start and first as a professional.
If this sounds eerily familiar, it’s not a Halloween thing. A year ago in the inaugural edition, Matt McCarty, coming off three wins on the Korn Ferry Tour, showed up acting like he owned the joint and then proved that he did, winning in his third PGA Tour start.
This kind of thing used to be rare. Before Brennan pulled a McCarty, just five players since 1970 had won a tour title in three starts or fewer. That’s less than one per decade until these two interlopers arrived.
What a magical week for Michael Brennan 🏆
In just his third start, he is a PGA TOUR champion @BOUChampionship. pic.twitter.com/rbGdY8u5Fu
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) October 26, 2025
“I was probably more nervous eating breakfast this morning,” said Brennan, explaining the calmness he exuded on his way to turning a two-shot lead over McCarty into a four-shot victory that could have been greater had he not struck a rare wayward approach left of the 72nd green and settled for bogey and a 22-under 262 total.
Later, he would admit to being nervous the entire round. But he had promised on Saturday that he would approach the final round like he was playing his home course in Leesburg, Va., River Creek Club, where he had learned to play starting at a young age. It worked.
“Yeah, played some good golf,” Brennan added with considerable understatement as he tried to explain his success in his first visit to Utah. “I don’t know, it’s a little tough. It’s something I work for, and I felt like I had been playing good for a while. I feel like maybe I have an idea what clicked, but I’m really not 100 percent sure. I’ll take it and hope to continue playing solid golf.”
McCarty closed with a 70 and ended in a six-way tie for third at 268, while Hoey shot 67 to end up at 266.
“You know, Michael played great from the start, so for me I was just trying to keep up with him,” Hoey said. “Yeah, he kept pushing me to hit great shots and make good putts. That’s all I could do.”
But it wasn’t enough, as Brennan built a five-stroke lead with a five-under effort on the outward nine and then cruised home with a game that was simply all-around solid. He led the field in strokes gained–off the tee and ranked 24th in approach the green and eighth in putting.
Justin Edmonds
A Wake Forest product, Brennan earned $1.08 million for his fourth win in the last three months and becomes eligible for PGA Tour membership. All three of his PGA Tour Americas victories—worth $40,500 each—came in his last five events, so he’s on a bit of a roll, you could say. He’ll roll right on into a two-year exemption and berths in the Players, PGA Championship and the RBC Heritage.
Unfortunately, the Masters is no longer included for the tour’s fall winners, but Brennan is on a trajectory to get there eventually, being that he is projected to climb into the top 50 in the world rankings. He began the year at No. 681. In June of 2024 he ranked 3,322. It’s been quite a fast climb, and that was before he breathed in the sweet fragrance of victory at 3,156 feet above sea level.
“It’s been my dream for a very long time to play on the PGA Tour and win on the PGA Tour, so, yeah, it feels amazing to do it,” Brennan said. “Just very thankful to even be in the field this week. I mean, ended up pretty good.”
Yep. Pretty good. Scary good, you could even say.
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Main Image: Mike Mulholland
