Michael Brennan cemented himself a place into the FedExCup Playoffs thanks to a three-shot victory at the regular-season finale at the Wyndham Championship.
The 24-year-old American came into the final round at Sedgefield Country Club with a share of the lead alongside fellow American Beau Hossler but seized control of the event with a run of five successive birdies between the 4th and 8th on the way to reaching the turn in 5-under 30. Hossler, who lead the event following the first and second rounds, remained on the shoulders of Brennan with a birdie at the 3rd and an eagle at the 5th but dropped shots at the 9th and 12th as Brennan pushed ahead, recovering from a bogey of his own at the 11th. A birdie at the 13th saw him pull clear once more but Hossler didn’t give up the fight with back-to-back birdies at the 16th and 17th to move within two shots of Brennan in the late stages. But Brennan kept his cool and finished the event with a flourish sinking a sublime 13-foot birdie to fire a 6-under 64, end on 21 under, and collect his second career PGA TOUR title.
“I did great for nine holes,” Brennan said following his triumph which earns him an invite to the 2027 Masters. “I felt really good on the front nine. Just playing my game, I was really staying within myself, hitting good shots.
“Felt like I was really in control. Got a little nervous around 10 and 11. I made a really nice par putt on 12 and that kind of steadied me a little bit going through and I’m just glad to make a few putts coming in.
“It’s everything. I mean, I don’t want to be done playing golf. I feel like I’ve played the best golf I have all year the last couple weeks.
“Unfortunately, a couple tough Sundays, but outside of that, I’ve been playing really solidly. This is my sixth week in a row and so seven’s a lot, but I think I’m going to be perfectly happy running on fumes next week.”
The victory propels Brennan to 46th in the FedExCup standings, securing his qualification to the FedExCup Playoffs as the regular season came to a close. Only those who finished within the top 70 following the end of the Wyndham Championship sealed themselves a place into the first event on the playoffs, the FedEx St. Jude Championship.
One of those missed out on qualification was five-time major winner Brooks Koepka, who stated him missing out on the playoffs as “pathetic”.
Koepka, who returned to the PGA TOUR this year following his stint with LIV Golf, was only able to finish the event in a share for 70th when requiring fourth-place or higher finish to earn himself a place at the FedEx St. Jude Championship.
“I struck the ball great,” Koepka said. “It’s just all on the greens. I don’t know what the deal is.
“Got zero confidence, can’t putt. I don’t know. There’s going to be a lot of changes here soon.”
Koepka emphasized his disappointmrnt in not qualifying, adding: “[I’m] pretty disappointed. I think it’s pretty pathetic that I can’t get through.
“Zero top-10s basically in two years. To be in the prime of my career and be as good as I think I am, I think that’s very pathetic, disappointing.
“I just need to go home and completely re-evaluate everything.”
What is the next event?
The next event on the PGA TOUR schedule is the FedEx St. Jude Championship taking place between 13-16 August at TPC Southwind in Memphis.