Michael Brennan is tied for the lead after 36 holes at the PGA Tour's 2025 Bank of Utah Championship.

Brennan fired a 4-under 67 on Thursday and followed it up with a 65 Friday to enter the weekend at 10 under, in a tie for the lead with David Ford with 36 holes to go at Black Desert Resort.

Brennan might not be a household name in golf yet, but he was utterly dominant on the PGA Tour Americas this season. In 16 starts, he made 15 cuts, won three times and racked up 12 top-10 finishes. He hoisted trophies at the ATB Classic, CRMC Championship and the BioSteel Championship, which propelled him to No. 1 in the Fortinet Cup Standings — the PGA Tour Americas season-long race, similar to the FedEx Cup.

By winning the Fortinet Cup, which he did by nearly 1,000 points, the 23-year-old Virginia native earned fully exempt status to the Korn Ferry Tour for the 2026 season. He also earned a sponsor exemption into this week's field in Utah, where he's in prime position to secure the biggest win of his life in just his third start on the PGA Tour.

"It's given me so much great experience playing on the Americas Tour this year and having some success," Brennan said after the second round Friday, which was suspended due to darkness and forced 51 players to finish Saturday morning. "I feel like I'll definitely be more prepared for this weekend after having those experiences and I know it's not the same level, but I am going to try to treat them the exact same and see what happens."

Brennan initially played his way onto the PGA Tour Americas by finishing 12th in the 2024 PGA Tour University Rankings during his time at Wake Forest. On Saturday, he'll play with Ford, a former UNC Tar Heel who finished first in the PGATU 2025 rankings. The two are friends.

"I think we met in 2019 at the Scott Robertson if I'm not mistaken," Ford said of Brennan. "I think we had dinner that week and played a bunch of junior golf together and a bunch of college golf being only a few hours away, Chapel Hill and Wake Forest. I've known him for a while. We played a practice round this week. I was pumped to see him in the field after seeing what he did this summer. It should be really fun. I know he's striping it and his game looks great. I'm really excited. It's good to be out there with a friend, too."

Friends, yes, but Brennan and Ford will be competitors this weekend in Utah — and not just with each other. They'll have to fend off some PGA Tour veterans like Sahith Theegala, Max Homa and Billy Horschel, who all enter the weekend within five shots of the young duo's lead at 10 under.

"I feel like my experience level is much improved just as it was the first two [PGA Tour starts], so I do feel much more prepared this time around," Brennan said. "It's been a really fun week so far. Hopefully it stays that way. I know it will regardless of play, but it'd be nice play well this weekend."

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Who is Michael Brennan? PGA Tour Americas champ tied for lead at Bank of Utah Championship

Reporting by Nick Stavas, Golfweek / Golfweek

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect