American Michael Brennan birdied five of the first nine holes on Sunday on his way to capturing the Bank of Utah Championship for his first US PGA Tour title.

Playing on a sponsor exemption in only his third career PGA start and first as a professional, the 23-year-old former college star at Wake Forest fired a closing five-under par 66 to finish 72 holes on 22-under 262 at Black Desert Resort in Ivins, Utah.

That was enough to defeat Rico Hoey of the Philippines by four strokes and take a $1.08 million top prize from the $6 million purse.

"It's an amazing feeling," Brennan said. "Winning golf tournaments is one of the better feelings in the world. It takes a lot to play professional golf.

"Mental fortitude or focus has gotten a lot better. Definitely have been a lot of technical thing

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