The PGA Tour has always had the great problem of having so much young talent that many up-and-comers fall through the cracks and don’t get the attention they deserve until they quietly put together a resume that suddenly smacks you in the face. Nobody on Tour right now may optimize that more than Michael Brennan.
On the topic of young talent, Blades Brown is headed to the PGA Tour next year. At just 19 years old and some change, he’s the youngest player ever to earn his Tour card through the Korn Ferry Tour after finishing ninth on the season-long points list.
In other news, LIV Golf suffered a haymaker amid its bankruptcy mess, with Jon Rahm officially opting to split with the league as its future remains entirely up in the air. While it’s so easy to look at the (many) negatives involving Rahm and his run with LIV, there is a very obvious yet important reality to look forward to.
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Jon Rahm of Spain reacts to a shot during a practice round, prior to the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Golf Club on September 15, 2026 in Virginia Water, England. (Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
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Michael Brennan deserves your respect
When you think of young stars on Tour, let’s call it guys who are 26 or younger, the likes of Jackson Koivun (21), Akshay Bhatia (24), Tom Kim (24), Michael Thorbjornsen (25), Jacob Bridgeman (26), and Ludvig Aberg (26) immediately come to mind, and rightfully so. After what 24-year-old Michael Brennan accomplished in Japan over the weekend, his name firmly belongs in that group.
The Baycurrent Classic marked Brennan’s 33rd career start on the PGA Tour, and after beginning Sunday’s final round tied for the lead, he went out and posted a 3-under 68 to earn a one-shot victory, giving him three career wins, all coming in under 12 months’ time.
Michael Brennan of the United States reacts during the final round of the Baycurrent Classic 2026 at Yokohama Country Club on October 11, 2026 in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. (Yu Chun Christopher Wong/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)
Brennan’s maiden win came at the 2025 Bank of Utah Championship in November against an admittedly weaker field. His second trip to the winner’s circle, a three-shot victory, came this August at the Wyndham Championship against a stronger crop of players fighting for a spot into the FedEx Cup Playoffs.
While the Wyndham could be described as his first “big boy” win, his victory at the Baycurrent, on international soil, is the most impressive of the three, as he held off the likes of Xander Schauffele, Brian Harman, Ryan Gerard, Keith Mitchell, and Bridgeman en route to victory.
Brennan was ranked 61st in the world in late July, but has catapulted himself all the way to No. 20 in what can only be described as a quiet, yet meteoric rise.
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The former Wake Forest star turned professional in 2024, made quick work of the PGA Tour Americas circuit in 2025 with three wins to earn a spot on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2026, but ultimately skipped that step. His start in the 2025 Bank of Utah Championship came via a sponsor’s exemption, and he went out and won the event, his first career start on Tour as a pro, by four shots.
So, about a year into his professional career, Brennan had already earned a PGA Tour membership, and less than a year on from that maiden victory, he’s earned two more wins. He also made the cut in all four major championships in 2026, which is something only 13 other players can say they accomplished.
The Virginia native has proven he knows how to do the hardest part – actually win – and also happens to rank second and third, respectively, in average club head speed and driving distance on Tour.
Brennan is one of the best young players on the planet, period.
Blades Brown keeps meeting huge expectations
It’s safe to say Blades Brown made the right call skipping out on that whole college experience thing.
Since before he could drive a car, which admittedly wasn’t all that long ago, the expectation for Blades Brown has simply been ‘the next guy.’ While he hasn’t won a professional event at this point in his insanely young career, he’s just about met every expectation out there.
It has been a steady climb for the Nashville native since he made his professional debut in January 2025 at 17 years old at The American Express. He’s made the most out of countless sponsors’ exemptions on the PGA Tour and put together an incredibly consistent campaign on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2026 with six Top 10s and just two missed cuts in 18 starts, which was plenty to earn a spot on Tour in 2027.
Blades Brown poses with his PGA Tour card after the final round of the Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by Virginia’s Richmond Region at The Federal Club on October 11, 2026 in Glen Allen, Virginia. (Tracy Wilcox/PGA TOUR via Getty Images)
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When the calendar flips in January, things get as real as possible for a guy who doesn’t turn 20 until May, but Brown has shown absolutely no reason to doubt him as he’s been Mr. Consistent.
In 11 starts on Tour in 2026, Brown missed just two cuts, finished solo third at the Puerto Rico Open, and picked up a total of seven Top 25 finishes. His career is very simply on the exact, consistent trajectory many expected it to be on at this point.
Currently ranked 97th in the world, it will be fascinating to see how Brown plays out of the gates in 2027. Sneaking inside the Top 50 and earning a Masters invite would be quite the story.
We’ll eventually not care about Jon Rahm’s stint on LIV
It’s so easy to say that Jon Rahm made a mistake when he left the PGA Tour for LIV Golf in 2024. You could claim it was a decision made out of greed, as he made the move for hundreds of millions of dollars. Then again, 99.9% of humanity would leave one job for another to acquire generational wealth, plus, Rahm was up front that money was the major factor behind his decision to join the then Saudi-backed circuit.
Jon Rahm of Spain tees off the 2nd during day two of The 154th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale in Southport. Picture date: Friday July 17, 2026. (Jacob King/PA Images via Getty Images)
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You could also claim that the move hurt his reputation. He made the jump at just 30 years old in the prime of his career with two major championships already in his back pocket.
While it’s fair to focus on those aspects now, our now will soon become our then, and Rahm has an ample amount of time to make his brief career on LIV Golf seem like a forgettable blip on his resume.
While at this point in time we don’t know how he’ll do it, the Spaniard will get back to competing on the PGA Tour against the best players in the world on a consistent basis. Maybe we see that in six months, maybe it takes 18 months, who knows, but when it happens, it’ll be a jolt to the PGA Tour from every angle.
Yes, two decades from now, golf fans will make jokes about Rahm leaving for LIV Golf for a couple of years while remembering him making the announcement in a ridiculous letterman jacket, but our level of caring about it at that point, in the grand scheme of things, won’t even exist.
