Michael Brennan showed up in Greensboro 105th in the FedExCup and needed a top two just to keep his year alive. He shot 64 on Sunday and won by three, and somewhere behind him Steven Fisk watched his season end.
IN THIS ISSUE
Brennan Didn't Back Into the Playoffs. He Kicked the Door In.
LIV Says It Found Money That Isn't Saudi Money
Vortex Anarch+: Image Stabilization Actually Solves Something
Shot Scope Puts Strokes Gained on an Apple Watch, No Subscription
Merritt's Grill Took Over the Finley Clubhouse
Pinehurst No. 6 Is Playing Better Than You Remember
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PGA TOUR . WYNDHAM CHAMPIONSHIP
Brennan Didn't Back Into the Playoffs. He Kicked the Door In.
Michael Brennan arrived at Sedgefield 105th in the FedExCup, needing at least a three-way tie for second just to have a mathematical shot at Memphis. He shot 64 on Sunday, made five straight birdies from the 4th through the 8th, and won the Wyndham Championship by three at 22-under.
That's $1.53 million and 500 points, which vaulted him from 105th to 47th. It's his second Tour title in two years after the Bank of Utah Championship in his first start as a pro last October, and it came in his sixth straight week of tournament golf. He tees it up for a seventh on Thursday.
"This is my sixth week in a row. I'm perfectly happy running on fumes next week."
Third straight PGA Tour winner under 25. The kids aren't waiting their turn.
LIV GOLF . NEW YORK
LIV Says It Found Money That Isn't Saudi Money
Scott O'Neil announced at Bedminster that LIV has signed a term sheet with a lead investor that would let the league operate without Saudi backing, with players taking equity instead of guaranteed cash. He would not name the investor or the size of the check. Given that LIV has been filing layoff notices and trimming its own calendar, "we found somebody, trust us" deserves a little squinting. If it's real, it's the biggest thing to happen to the league since Rahm signed.
On the course, Rahm shot 76, finished T41, and won the season points title for a third straight year anyway. Joaquin Niemann went wire-to-wire for his ninth win in three years.
"So many of them came because this was a good opportunity for them to make some money, and this second bite at the apple is equity instead of cash."
One event left. The season trophy's already engraved.
PGA TOUR . FEDEX CUP BUBBLE
Koepka Is Out. Koivun Is In by Eight Points.
Jackson Koivun left Auburn in June and hung onto the 70th and final playoff spot by eight points, piping his drive on 18 for a stress-free par and then waiting on Matt Wallace and Davis Thompson to miss the putts that would have bumped him. Steven Fisk went from 69th to 71st by missing the cut and never hit a shot Sunday.
Then there's Brooks Koepka, the first player to leave LIV and come back. He needed a fourth-place finish, tied for 67th, and blamed the greens on his way out. One top 10 all season for a five-time major champion.
"I think it's pretty pathetic that I can't get through."
He says changes are coming. In August, they usually are.
ALSO THIS WEEK
Ben James Shot 61 on Sunday The No. 1 player in the PGA Tour University ranking fell out of it Saturday, then closed with a 61 to finish third with his 2027 card already banked.
Frankie Harris Wins in a Playoff in Omaha Harris got to 22 under and beat Alistair Docherty in extra holes at The Club at Indian Creek.
LOOKING AHEAD
FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind
The playoffs open August 13-16 at TPC Southwind in Memphis, with only the top 70 in the field. Brennan arrives at No. 47 after Sunday, Jackson Koivun squeaked in at No. 70, and Scottie Scheffler is the guy everyone else has to solve for four straight weeks. Also worth watching: Raleigh's Ryan Gerard, who came into Sedgefield 16th in the standings.
Vortex Anarch+: Image Stabilization Actually Solves Something
Digital image stabilization in a rangefinder sounds like a spec-sheet flourish until you're on the 15th hole with shaky hands trying to pick a flag out of a tree line. GOLF.com's tester says the Anarch+ quiets the picture and locks fast, and the pin-spotter marker helps when the background is busy. Also: magnets on both sides, so you stop dropping it off the cart. It's $599.99, which is real money when Bushnell's Tour V7 Shift is $399.99. You're paying for the glass and a no-questions warranty.
Shot Scope Puts Strokes Gained on an Apple Watch, No Subscription
Shot Scope's first Apple Watch app landed this week: hole maps, green contours, tap-anywhere yardages, front/middle/back, plus shot tracking that feeds 100-plus stats including strokes gained and handicap benchmarking. The part that matters is the pricing model. One flat payment, roughly $190 converted from £149.99, for lifetime data access instead of a monthly bill that never stops. If you already wear an Apple Watch and you've been guessing at where your strokes go, this is the cheap way to find out.
ALSO THIS WEEK
Callaway's Tour-Only Blade Is Going to Retail The Apex MB Tour Raw that Min Woo Lee, Sam Burns and Adam Scott have been gaming is finally coming to consumers in extremely limited quantities, which is fun to read about and irrelevant to about 95% of us.
Mizuno JPX One Driver: Handsome, Loud, Unremarkable Plugged In Golf found spin never crept above 2750 rpm and called the sound thin and plasticky, so if you swing under 95 mph you may not spin it enough to hold a carry number.
Merritt's Grill Took Over the Finley Clubhouse
The best sandwich in Chapel Hill now has a tee time. Merritt's opened its second location in the Finley Golf Club clubhouse in late July at 500 Finley Golf Course Road, open 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. daily and closed Tuesdays. Roughly 60 seats inside with actual air conditioning, plus patio space, which the cramped South Columbia Street original never had. They're experimenting with dinner and Sunday hours, and there's a new portable ballpark-style dog for people who don't want chili dripping into their glove.
Pinehurst No. 6 Is Playing Better Than You Remember
If No. 6 has been the one you skip on a Sandhills trip, reconsider. Eric Mabie took over as superintendent last October and nine months in, the conditions and the crew culture have both moved. His resume: a decade at Firestone, then five and a half years as an assistant across Pinehurst No. 4, No. 8 and No. 2, including the 2024 U.S. Open. His wish list is a new irrigation system and a bunker redo, so this is a course still on the way up, not one coasting.
The Wyndham's $40 Million Question
The state Senate has passed $40 million in aid to keep the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro. The House still has to vote. Ryan Gerard said he'd like the option of playing Sedgefield next year, which is a diplomatic way of saying nobody's certain what this tournament looks like in 2027. If you've been meaning to make the two-hour drive for Wyndham week, stop assuming there's an unlimited supply of them.
While You're There: Finley Is Still the Best Public Track in Chapel Hill
Reminder for anyone who hasn't been out since the summer maintenance window closed: Finley is a public 18 owned by UNC, redesigned by Davis Love III's Love Golf Design and reopened in 2023 with Tif-Eagle Bermuda greens and 16 acres turned into practice space. George Cobb original, Fazio redo in '99, Love reroute most recently. It's a mile from the Smith Center. Play early, eat after.
ALSO THIS WEEK
Wake Forest Owns Sedgefield Now Brennan is the second straight Demon Deacon to win the Wyndham, and he matched the exact 258 Cameron Young posted last year.
Merritt's Is Running the Beverage Cart Too Beyond the clubhouse, Merritt's now handles the halfway house, the on-course cart and event catering at Finley, with "Merritt's in the Pines" back inside Gate 2 at Kenan Stadium this fall.
U.S. Kids Worlds Final Tally: 2,048 Players, 58 Nations The Sandhills hosted 23 separate tournaments across 10 courses over two weeks, and North Carolina's Kennedy Gallentine won the Girls 15-18 title at 7-under.
TWO WAYS TO KEEP THIS GOING
Show up to a new course already knowing the move.
The next time a buddy picks a Triangle course you have never played, you will know which tees to play, where the trouble is, and what the locals actually pay before you leave the parking lot. That is the Triangle Golf Guide: 23 courses deep, plus the curated sim spots and the membership math worth knowing. Less than a range bucket, at $5.99.
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