Two months ago, Michael Brennan kept finding ways to lose on Sundays. A Saturday 63 at the 3M Open turned into a 74 and a T24 finish. Another shot at the trophy at the Rocket Mortgage Classic ended with a 73. He then won the Wyndham Championship, and his summer started to look very different.
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This Sunday in Japan, he showed that the win was no fluke. Brennan held off Jacob Bridgeman and Keith Mitchell to win the Baycurrent Classic, his third PGA Tour title in 12 months. As most winners do, he had plenty to say afterwards at the press conference, and his answers revealed a lot about his nerves, a surprising game plan, and a pet named after Tiger Woods.
A Cat Named Tiger and Childhood Heroes
Besides his performance and the nitty-gritty, he was also asked about his childhood heroes, and Brennan, as usual, did not hesitate.
“Tiger Woods was always my favorite player growing up. I named my cat after him. So when we were really young—I don’t know, my cat’s 18 now, so I probably was six or seven years old.”
Well, a natural decision when you’re a Big Cat fan! Furthermore, he shared that he also loves watching Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Rickie Fowler, and Smylie Kaufman.
He also shared that he dressed up as Rickie Fowler for Halloween one year. Notably, that costume is well documented and had a good ending. Fowler signed a photo and promised a practice round. Two years later, at the 2023 U.S. Open, Brennan played with Fowler, Spieth, and Thomas.
Ryder Cup in His Sight
With three wins to his name, Brennan was asked about his future goals, and he named one.
“It would be really cool to play in the Ryder Cup next year in Ireland. That’s definitely a goal of probably most Americans who play on the PGA Tour.”
This win certainly helps his case. He earned $1.44 million and an exemption into the 2027 U.S. Open. The win also lifts him into the world’s top 25 for the first time. The 2027 Ryder Cup will take place at Adare Manor in Ireland, with the competition scheduled for September 17–19. Whether Brennan can make the team remains an interesting question.
Brennan Admits the Nerves Are Still There
When asked about how he handled the pressure, Brennan was honest.
“I was more calm today than I have been in weeks past when I have been in contention,” he said at the press conference. “Even late in the round, yes, I was nervous, but maybe less so than some of the other tournaments that I had been closing recently. And I think that’s progress.”
That answer has some history behind it. Only two months ago, Brennan was four shots off the lead at the 3M Open after a Sunday 63. He then shot a 74 on Sunday, finishing T24, in what proved to be a hard near-miss. He later admitted to “putting too much pressure” on himself.
Just a week later at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, he faced a similar situation. He started the final round one shot off the lead but finished T15 after carding a 73. So this Sunday naturally mattered.
A Careful Game Plan
Additionally, another surprise element in the win was how he did it. Brennan is known for hitting tee shots as far as he can, and he averaged 351 yards off the tee when he won at Utah. But in Japan, he shared that he took a different approach.
“I thought our game plan this week was maybe even slightly more conservative than normal. I didn’t hit a ton of drivers. I’m normally the one to try to hit drivers as much as possible, but as a result, I did hit a lot of fairways.”
And the plan worked.
He hit 55 of 60 fairways, the best mark in the field, and all 15 on Sunday. He used a 7-wood off the tee on several holes, which he normally saves for thick rough. That plan also kept him out of Zoysia grass, which, he said, makes the ball a little more unpredictable.
Even defending champion Xander Schauffele saw the other side of it. He drove into the trees on the 18th and finished with a double bogey, which cost him his chance. That also makes Brennan’s win even more significant.
How Brennan Secured His Third Win At the PGA Tour
For background, Brennan arrived in Japan after a quiet stretch. He won the Wyndham Championship in August and tied for 42nd at the St. Jude Championship, followed by a tie for 10th at the BMW Championship. With that, he finished the FedEx Cup season 46th. After that, it was a long break.
He later said he had played just one event in the previous five weeks. That was the Bank of Utah Championship, where he was the defending champion but never got into the mix. So it was fair to wonder how sharp he would be arriving at the Baycurrent Classic.
The opening round did not immediately answer that question. Brennan shot a three-under 68 on Thursday, five shots behind Jacob Bridgeman, who flew in days after making the winning putt at the Presidents Cup. Moreover, Friday’s 67 left Brennan at seven under and four shots behind Bridgeman and Michael Kim, who sat at 11 under.
Even the PGA Tour called his round “not pretty,” but he did hit every fairway. Brennan then surged on Saturday with a 65 to reach 13 under. That performance also put him in a three-way tie for the lead with Bridgeman.
He carried that momentum into Sunday. The front nine started easily, but he bogeyed the 10th hole before birdieing the 11th and 12th to regain the lead. Mitchell, on the other hand, had been two shots ahead after going five under in five holes, but he could not maintain that pace on the back nine.
Brennan then parred his last six holes, including a bunker shot on the 16th that stopped a foot from the hole. He also two-putted the last hole for a 68 and a one-shot win at 16 under. The victoy was even more special because his parents watched from outside the ropes.