If you had backed Michael Brennan to win the Bank of Utah Championship you would now be planning a very expensive foreign holiday. A rank outsider playing on a sponsor’s invitation, Brennan had the week of his life to secure a four-shot victory and a two-year PGA Tour exemption.
It truly is the stuff dreams are made of. In a masterpiece of understatement, he said: “Winning a tournament is one of the better feelings in the world.”
Brennan has actually enjoyed a successful season on the PGA Tour Americas, where he won three times in 2025 to earn promotion to the Korn Ferry Tour – something he can now give a miss.
“My caddie told me ever since we played a great year, we’re not going to the Korn Ferry Tour,” Brennan said. “I can’t believe he’s right.”
Big-hitting Brennan, 23, shot a final-round five-under 66 at Black Desert Golf Course in only his third PGA Tour start and first as a professional to beat Rico Hoey by four shots. In doing so, he became the seventh player since 1970 to win his first Tour title within his first three starts.
Brennan won three times on PGA Tour Americas this season and finished No. 1 in the Fortinet Cup standings, the PGA Tour Americas season-long race, which is similar to the FedEx Cup. That earned him fully exempt status on the Korn Ferry Tour next season. In his six previous starts on the PGA Tour Americas, he won three time, registered five top-five finishes and a score to par of 105 under.
“It’s given me so much great experience playing on the Americas Tour this year and having some success,” Brennan said.
Brennan initially played his way onto the PGA Tour Americas by finishing 12th in the 2024 PGA Tour University Rankings during his time at Wake Forest, where he won eight individual titles, including the ACC Championship in back to back years.
He was scheduled to do a sponsor event in Canada at a conference for 1,500 people, where he was going to hit balls into a simulator and provide lessons to people and do a closest to the pin competition.
He opened with rounds of 67-65-64 and entered the final round with a two-stroke lead before making five birdies on the front nine to open up a five-stroke lead. He bogeyed the 10th and Hoey made birdie to trim the lead to three strokes. But Brennan smashed a 415-yard drive at the 12th, wedged to three feet and reached 22 under. He added another birdie at the 14th to extend his lead again and despite a bogey on the final hole, he coasted to victory with a 72-hole total of 22-under 264.
Hoey closed in 67 to finish second, tying his best finish of his career, to secure his Tour card for next season. Six golfers, including defending champion Matt McCarty finished tied for third. Max Homa, who split with his swing coach recently, and 2026 US Presidents Cup captain Brandt Snedeker also recorded top-10 finishes too.
Who is Michael Brennan?
Michael Brennan was born on February 9th, 2002 in Leesburg, Virginia.
He joined Wake Forest in 2020, where he studied economics.
Brennan is tied for third for the number of individual titles in Wake Forest’s history with eight, level with Curtis Strange. One of those wins was at the 2022 Genesis Invitational Collegiate, which earned him an exemption into that year’s Genesis Invitational, his maiden PGA Tour event.
His first major appearance came a year later at the US Open, where he missed the cut at Los Angeles Country Club.
Following his college career, he held a career-stroke average of 71.46, only bettered at Wake Forest by Will Zalatoris, Bill Haas and Alex Fitzpatrick.
Brennan earned his PGA Tour of Americas status for 2024 after finishing 12th in the PGA Tour University ranking.
In 2025, he won three PGA Tour of Americas events in the space of a month – at the Biosteel Championship, CRMC Championship and ATP Classic. That success helped ensure his Korn Ferry Tour card for the 2026 season.
He has played one Korn Ferry Tour event, missing the cut.
He received a sponsor’s invite to the 2025 Bank of Utah Championship, only his third PGA Tour start.
He started the week in Utah ranked 111th in the world.
He averages an astonishing 332 yards from the tee, hits 46.43% of fairways and finds 72.22% of greens in regulation. He gets up and down from the sand 33.33% of the time, averages 32 putts per round, four birdies per round and has a scoring average of 70.
Michael Brennan – what’s in the bag?
Driver: Titleist TSi3 (9 Degrees)
3-Wood: Titleist TSi2 (15 Degrees, B1)
Irons: Titleist T200 (3), Titleist T100 (4-5), Titleist 620 CB (6-9)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM8 (46-10F, 50-12F, 54-10S @ 55), Titleist Vokey Design WedgeWorks Proto (60-T)
Putter: Scotty Cameron Special Select Newport 2, Scotty Cameron Tourtype SSS
Grips: Golf Pride ZGrip Cord
Derek Clements is a seasoned sports journalist and regular Golfshake contributor, specialising in tour coverage, opinion pieces, and feature writing. With a long career in national newspapers and golf media, he has reported on the game across Europe, the United States and Australia. A passionate golfer, he has played and reviewed numerous renowned courses, with personal favourites including Pebble Beach, Kingsbarns, Aldeburgh, Old Thorns and the K Club. His love of the game informs his thoughtful commentary on both professional golf and the wider golfing community.
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