PGA Tour's latest winner makes unsurprising announcement

Michael Brennan has officially joined the PGA Tour following his incredible victory at last week’s Bank of Utah Championship, confirming he’ll be exempt through the 2027 season.

The 23-year-old American, who started the week as a sponsor’s invite, produced a dominant display at Black Desert Resort, firing a final-round 66 to seal a four-shot win over Rico Hoey.

Big-hitting Brennan led the field in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green and he ranked second in Driving Distance, proving he can more than handle himself against seasoned PGA Tour pros.

On some holes at Black Desert Resort last weekend, Brennan was seen crushing the ball over 400 yards. 

The victory earned Brennan 500 FedExCup points and instant entry into the FedExCup Fall standings (No. 95), along with exemptions into The Players Championship, RBC Heritage, and the 2026 PGA Championship.

It also banked him over $1m, the biggest cheque of his career - one that quadrupled his earnings on the PGA Tour Americas. 

Brennan will now make his first start as an official PGA Tour member next week at the World Wide Technology Championship in Los Cabos, Mexico, where he’ll be classified as a rookie for the remainder of the 2025 season.

Historic breakthrough

Brennan’s win made him the 13th sponsor exemption to win a PGA Tour event, and just the seventh since 1970 to win on the PGA Tour within his first three starts. He became the first sponsor’s exemption to win since Nick Dunlap at the 2024 American Express.

Before his breakthrough, Brennan had only teed it up twice on the PGA Tour: the 2023 US Open and the 2022 Genesis Invitational, the latter earned after he won the Genesis Collegiate Showcase as a Wake Forest sophomore.

Rapid rise of Michael Brennan

After four standout years at Wake Forest, where he collected eight individual titles including back-to-back ACC Championships in 2023 and 2024, Brennan turned professional in 2024.

He climbed the ranks quickly on PGA Tour Americas, finishing top of the 2025 Fortinet Cup standings after winning three times in four starts. His early-season dominance also earned him Korn Ferry Tour status for 2026 — but his Utah win fast-tracked him straight to the big stage.

Brennan started 2025 ranked No. 681 in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR), rose to No. 111 before Utah, and now sits inside the world’s top 50 at No. 43, giving him a strong chance of qualifying for the 2026 Masters in April. 

"A dream come true"

“It means a lot,” Brennan told Sky Sports’ Inci Mehmet after lifting the trophy. 

“Golf’s a big part of my life. I try not to make it my entire life, but it’s a big part of what I do for a living, and to have success at the professional level, it’s an amazing feeling.”

He added: “It is a dream. My parents have kept things from what I wrote in kindergarten saying I wanted to play professional golf on the PGA Tour.

“And now I've realised that dream. Not only do I get to play on Tour, I'm a Tour winner. I definitely have not settled in – I'm just hoping to get that scorecard correct.”

From a sponsor’s exemption to a PGA Tour card in one stunning week — Michael Brennan’s rise is one of the stories of the season.