A dramatic Sunday at the Wyndham Championship, the final event of the regular season, saw Sedgefield Country Club become a stage for soaring celebrations and crushing disappointment as players battled for the final FedExCup Playoff places.<\/p>\n
One man who will be reeling in those celebrations is Michael Brennan, who produced a brilliant five-in-a-row birdie streak on the front nine to pull away from the pack, securing his second win in two years and more importantly, a spot in next weeks FedEx Cup Playoffs.<\/p>\n
Brennan entered this week 105th in the FedEx Cup standings after a disappointing year, but his Sunday heroics see him with a chance of big money in the lucrative post season.<\/p>\n
Brennan shared the lead with Beau Hossler at 16-under heading into Sunday\u2019s final round, with the pair in the final group and both knowing that only a victory would secure their place in the FedExCup Playoffs.<\/p>\n
Hossler drew first blood with a birdie and an eagle at the third and fifth before Brennan came charging \u2013 making birdies at holes four through eight to take a three stroke lead over Hossler heading into the back nine.<\/p>\n
Hossler struggled to find his rhythm but fought back to within two shots heading down the 18th, giving himself a glimmer of hope. Brennan held his nerve, rolling in a birdie on the par-4 closing hole while Hossler could only manage par, sealing a dramatic victory for Brennan and crushing Hossler\u2019s hopes in the process.<\/p>\n
Hossler missed out on the playoffs by two places as he climbed to 72nd from 122nd. His solo second finish at 19-under wasn\u2019t enough to get the job done.<\/p>\n
Brennan\u2019s tally of 22-under will surely give him some confidence ahead of next week\u2019s FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to be done playing golf,\u201d Brennan said. \u201cUnfortunately, I\u2019ve had a couple of tough Sundays. Outside of that, I had been playing really solid. This is my sixth week in a row. I\u2019m perfectly happy running on fumes next week.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been playing good for a couple weeks. It\u2019s just great to get another opportunity playing against some of the best players in the world. I didn\u2019t want to go home and sit on my couch when I\u2019m playing good golf,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Rookie Jackson Koivun squeezes into the playoffs, finishing 70th in the standings, as the young prodigy matches a record held by Tiger Woods for the fewest starts needed to qualify for the postseason. Koivun can thank his win at the 3M Open for that.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s pretty cool,\u201d he admitted. \u201cObviously whenever you\u2019re in the record books with Tiger it\u2019s a good name to get acquainted with. I mean, obviously I wanted to make the Playoffs, and I knew that was a farfetched goal.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I told myself back in June that I would be sitting at 70 and waiting it out in Greensboro, I think I\u2019d be pretty happy,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Missing out on a place in the postseason was Brooks Koepka. The five-time major champion needed a fourth-place finish to sneak into the FedExCup Playoffs, but a familiar struggle with the putter saw him finish T67. Koepka endured a difficult season, recording just one top-10 finish. Koepka offered a brutally honest assessment of his season<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just all on the greens. I don\u2019t know what the deal is, got zero confidence,\u201d Koepka said. \u201cThere\u2019s going to be a lot of changes here soon.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s pretty pathetic that I can\u2019t get through (to the postseason),\u201d he said. \u201cTo be in the prime of your career and be as good as I think I am, I think that\u2019s very pathetic, disappointing. Just need to go home and completely reevaluate everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
The first of the three legged progressive-cut playoff events begins next weekend, with the top-50 for the weekend making into the second stage.<\/p>\n