News

Bank of Utah Championship: Michael Brennan wins in his PGA Tour start as a pro

Bank of Utah Championship organizers can take full credit for Michael Brannan’s arrival as a PGA Tour winner.

2025 Bank of Utah Championship crowns its inaugural champion, Michael Brennan.

Playing via a sponsor exemption in recognition of his PGA Tour Americas success this year, Brennan took a four-stroke victory Sunday at Black Desert Resort in his first PGA Tour start as a professional and third overall appearance.

Matt McCarty’s emergence as the 2024 champion in Ivins came after his three-victory promotion from the Korn Ferry Tour. Brennan will skip that level of pro golf, with a PGA Tour exemption through the 2027 season.

The Wake Forest alumnus earned $1.08 million, after each of his three wins in Canada and Minnesota in August and September was worth $40,500.

“Maybe I have an idea of what clicked,” Brennan said in the winner’s news conference, “but I’m not 100 percent sure.”

Brennan posted 67-65-64-66 for a 22-under-par total. He bogeyed No. 18 to finish one stroke higher than McCarty’s 2024 total, while topping Rico Hoey. McCarty, whose victory also came in his third PGA Tour start, closed with a 70 that gave him a six-way tie for third place.

Weber High School alum Connor Howe, who tied for 56th at Black Desert Resort, can say he once came closer to Brennan in a PGA Tour Americas event than most of the field did in Utah. As a Georgia Tech golfer, Howe competed against Brennan in the Atlantic Coast Conference and finished second to him by five shots in August in Windsor, Ontario.

“You’re seeing it time and time again,” Howe said. “Whether it’s guys coming from (PGA Tour) Americas or college guys, there’s a lot of young guys that are ready for the next level.”

The champion credited his agent, Terry Reilly, for securing the exemption. “I know he put in a lot of work to get me a start,” Brennan said.

Michael Brennan earned the win at Black Desert Resort posting 67-65-64-66 for a 22-under-par total.

Brennan started the final round with a two-shot lead over McCarty. At the turn, he was five strokes ahead of Hoey. Brennan wobbled only with a bogey on the par-4 No. 10, which Hoey birdied. But then on the par-4 No. 12, where most players hit a layup shot, Brennan launched a 418-yard drive to the edge of the green and chipped to within 3 feet to set up a birdie that kept him going.

PGA Tour veteran Zac Blair of Orem shot 68-69-67-68 to tie for 20th place. Five more birdies Sunday gave him 23 for the week (plus an eagle), offset by 13 bogeys. He laughed at the suggestion that he needed Modified Stableford scoring that rewards birdies more than it punishes bogeys. That’s the format of the Utah Golf Association’s Winterchamps event, which Blair won in the St. George area in 2014.

“Exactly,” he said good-naturedly. “Just way too many bogeys. … But it was nice to see some putts go in. I putted as good as I’ve putted in a couple of years.”

Howe (68-66-74-71) was happy to birdie two of his last three holes in his PGA Tour debut on another sponsor exemption. “Good to finally be out here and kind of see what it’s all about and compare myself to the best players in the world and see what I need to improve,” he said.

Weber High School/Georgia Tech University alum Connor Howe, tied for 56th at Black Desert Resort.

Having tried to rise to Brennan’s level in Canada, Howe added, “It gives me confidence, knowing that I’m right there too. It’s not that big a margin.”

Click here for the final 2025 Bank of Utah Championship final leaderboard.

2025 Bank of Utah Championship daily recaps written by Fairways Media senior writer Kurt Kragthorpe. Photography by Fairways Media/Garrit Johnson.