Virginia Golfer November/December 2025 | Seite 30

A maiden victory in Utah opens a world of opportunity for past VSGA Amateur champion Michael Brennan
by CHRIS LANG
A maiden victory in Utah opens a world of opportunity for past VSGA Amateur champion Michael Brennan

THE PGA TOUR posted an interview with Mike and Shannon Brennan, parents of soon-to-be-minted, firsttime Tour winner Michael Brennan, on the Sunday of the final round of the Bank of Utah Championship. In it, Mike relays a tale about how he bought the younger Brennan a new 7-iron when the latter was a child, only to find him curled up in bed with it. It was a cute story, one that lends heavy credence to Brennan’ s words after his fourstroke victory in the Utah desert in late October.“ It’ s 100 percent been a dream for a very long time to play on the PGA Tour and win on the PGA Tour,” Brennan said in the press tent afterward.“ It feels amazing to do it.”

The PGA Tour’ s fall series operates opposite football and away from the golf mainstream limelight. It was a perfect chance for a sponsor to provide an exemption to a deserving player: Brennan, who had won three times in four starts during the summer on PGA Tour Americas, earning his Korn Ferry Tour card for 2026.
Brennan teed up twice in PGA Tour events in the past, first at the Genesis Invitational at Riviera after having qualified by winning the tournament’ s Collegiate Showcase; then at the U. S. Open in 2023, having survived a playoff to advance via final qualifying.
But this was his first PGA Tour start as a professional, and it’ s clear that the long grind of a tour spanning seven months, eight countries, and two continents helped him learn valuable lessons. Once he broke through in Windsor, Ontario, for his first
victory in August, the floodgates opened. The guy who had racked up four top 10s in six starts in the South American / Mexican leg of the tour was on a familiar heater.
“ There is so much looking back that I thought I knew, but didn’ t know,” Brennan said after his Utah win.“ I know there are definitely things I will continue to learn and get better at moving forward. My game has certainly evolved since then. Actual aspects of the game that have been wedges have gotten better, chipping has gotten better, my putting has gotten a lot better. So as we have gotten closer to the hole, it’ s gotten a lot better.”
CHAMPION IN THE MAKING Those who follow competitive amateur golf in Virginia know all about Brennan’ s ability to string together incredible performances. As a 15-year-old rising sophomore
at Tuscarora High School, the Leesburg resident and River Creek Club member was the talk of Virginia golf in 2017.
He won the VSGA Junior Match Play championship, showing he was elite among his peers. A week later, he was the strokeplay medalist at the VSGA Amateur, showing his strength against fellow high school students, college standouts, and mid-amateur veterans. A month later, he shared low-amateur spoils at the State Open of Virginia.
He also won three straight Middle Atlantic Amateurs, the 2019 VSGA Amateur, and eight individual titles at Wake Forest, tying him with Curtis Strange for third on the Deacons’ all-time wins list.
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28 V IRGINIA G OLFER | N OVEMBER / D ECEMBER 2025 vsga. org