Michael Brennan says he doesn’t “half ass” anything in his life, be it golf or poker or his latest obsessive hobby, tennis.
“I just get into some activities and dive into them,” Brennan, the 54-hole leader, was saying on Saturday at the Bank of Utah Championship. “I think it’s fun too, more enjoyable to do that and try your best than just kind of half ass whatever you’re doing.
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“My latest thing is tennis. I’m not really playing as much poker but playing a lot of tennis with my buddies. They think it’s a little ridiculous, but I went out and got tennis lessons from a tennis pro because I don’t like being average at it.
“For me, that’s the great thing about golf, is it gives me an outlet to go all in and nerd out and geek out a little bit about that sort of stuff, all aspects of the game, just trying to be good at it. That definitely is in line with my personality I think.”
Brennan, 23, has never been average at golf, and though he admits his love for competition makes him run a little hot at times, when he channels that energy, he can be tough to beat.
Faced with an early test of his emotions in the third round at Black Desert Resort when he double bogeyed the second hole, Brennan more than collected himself. He shot eight under over his last 15 holes to card a 64 and take a two-shot lead heading into the final round of his first PGA Tour start as a pro and third overall.
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“I’m obviously very happy with how I finished this round. I played very solid coming in,” Brennan said. “I felt like I maybe was a little frustrated on the third hole still [after the double on 2], and it’s something I hope to improve upon, trying not to carry it with me. I made a nice birdie on 4 and kept things going.”
Brennan, who leads the field in driving distance (359.20 yards) and strokes gained/off the tee (plus-5.912) while being ninth in SG/putting (plus-4.997), made an eagle at the par-5 seventh and then reeled off five birdies over six-hole stretch from 9 through 14. Brennan reached the green in two on the par-5 18th and two putted for birdie to cap the a 30 on the back nine and seven-under round that followed his first two days of 67-65.
Standing at 17 under, Brennan is two strokes ahead of Matt McCarty (64), and their juxtaposition is an interesting side note. In only his third career tour start, McCarty won the inaugural playing of the Black Desert event last year. Brennan, who is playing on a sponsor’s exemption, can match the feat in his third appearance, though his first two came as an amateur.
Only seven players since 1970 have won their first tour title in three starts or fewer, and only one has achieved it in his first-ever appearance—Jim Benepe in the 1988 BMW Championship.
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Brennan is playing for an instant promotion to the PGA Tour that he’d secure with a win. A six-time college winner at Wake Forest, the Virginia native reached PGA Tour Americas this year through the tour’s University points system and won three times to gain a promotion to the Korn Ferry Tour in 2026. But he has a chance to completely skip the highest developmental circuit.
“Yeah, I was a little nervous. Definitely,” Brennan admitted about how he opened the third round. “I don’t think it was anything crazy. Nothing that I hadn’t experienced playing professional golf on the Americas Tour. I felt like those experiences were pretty similar, which I’m very happy about. I’ve had some experience, and I hope to draw on that tomorrow.”
With his parents following him around the course this week, Brennan looks to them for support at times, and at others he says he’s trying to make his approach to Black Desert no different than the course in Leesburg, Va., he grew up playing—River Creek Club on the banks of the Potomac River.
“Have some really, really fond memories playing with my family, brother and a bunch of friends out there,” Brennan said. “… It’s kind of a calming and peaceful place to me. So when I try to imagine hitting shots, just a 7-iron I would hit at River Creek, makes me feel a little bit better out on the golf course.”
