Michael Brennan entered the final regular-season event of the PGA Tour at No. 105 in the FedEx Cup standings, one disappointing year behind him with only one top-10 finish. He left Greensboro, North Carolina, with a tournament title and a trip to the postseason.
Brennan closed with a 6-under 64 at the Wyndham Championship on Sunday, winning his second PGA Tour title in two years. According to Yahoo Sports, the round turned on five consecutive birdies starting on the fourth hole, all made from inside 8 feet, which flipped a one-shot deficit into a three-shot lead at the turn after Beau Hossler took a bogey on the ninth.
The 24-year-old Brennan is a Virginia native who played college golf at Wake Forest, roughly 30 miles from Sedgefield Country Club. He had been close in recent weeks without closing. At the 3M Open, he was four shots back heading into the final round and shot 74. At the Rocket Classic last week, he was one shot out of the lead in the final group and closed with a 73 to tie for 15th.
Sunday was different. "I don't want to be done playing golf," Brennan said. "Unfortunately, I've had a couple of tough Sundays. Outside of that, I had been playing really solid. This is my sixth week in a row. I'm perfectly happy running on fumes next week."
His mother walked onto the 18th green to celebrate and reminded him that the win also earned him an invitation to the Masters. He had made his Masters debut earlier this year.
Brennan jumped from No. 105 all the way to No. 47 in the FedEx Cup standings. The playoffs begin Thursday with the FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee. Only the top 70 players advance.
Jackson Koivun, who left Auburn in June and won the 3M Open in only his third professional start, needed to hold on to 70th place to qualify. He closed with a 71 and had to watch Matt Wallace and Davis Thompson finish their rounds, both within range of bumping him out. They did not make the necessary putts, and Koivun survived with eight points to spare.
On the 18th hole, with his postseason spot hanging on every shot, Koivun drove the ball straight down the middle of the fairway and made an easy par. He acknowledged the day felt unlike his recent experience as a professional. "It's just it's a different type of nerves when you know you don't have your stuff and you've got to go out there and execute some shots," Koivun said. "I think that kind of sparked some emotion in me. Yeah, it's easier to get comfortable when you're playing well. It was just kind of a different feeling for me today."
Koivun goes from college golfer to PGA Tour postseason participant in under two months.
