SHERWOOD PARK, Alberta – Michael Brennan carded a career-low 11-under 61 in the first round of the ATB Classic at Northern Bear Golf Course to take sole possession of the 18-hole lead for the second time in his career. Andi Xu trails Brennan by two strokes after a 9-under 63 in the opening round.

After notching his second win of the season at the CRMC Championship presented by Northern Pacific Center, Brennan carded a 6-under 30 on his front nine en route to matching his career low, which was highlighted by an eagle on hole No. 10, his first hole of the day.

In 13 starts on PGA TOUR Americas this season, Brennan, a Fortinet Ambassador, entered the week at No. 1 in the Fortinet Cup points list, with two wins in his last three starts. The Wake Forest alum became the first wire-to-wire champion of the season after his win at the BioSteel Championship. With a third win this season, Brennan would earn a three-victory promotion and secure exempt status on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2026.

In his last 14 starts, Brennan has made 13 cuts with 10 top-10 finishes. The second-year professional has not missed a cut since the 2025 Inter Rapidisímo Golf Championship and has only finished outside of the top-15 three times this season.

All players finished first-round play on Thursday. Second round tee times are expected to run from 7:30 a.m. to 2:40 p.m. local time on Friday.

Charting the leader

About Michael Brennan (first/-11)

 

• Carded an 11-under 61 in the first round to take sole possession of the 18-hole lead for the second time in his career (2025 BioSteel Championship)
• Won his second career PGA TOUR Americas event at the CRMC Championship presented by Northern Pacific Center at the age of 23 years, 6 months, and 23 days after overcoming a four-stroke deficit in the final round
• Won his first title at the BioSteel Championship, where he coasted to a five-stroke win, the largest margin on PGA TOUR Americas since 2024. Became the first wire-to-wire winner of the season
• Has the most top-10 finishes of the 2025 season with nine. Brennan has finished in the top-10 14 times in 23 career starts on PGA TOUR Americas, 12 of which have come in his last 17 starts dating back to the 2024 season
• Finished as the No. 12 player in the PGA TOUR University Class of 2024 to earn PGA TOUR Americas membership
• Tied for third in Wake Forest program history with Curtis Strange with eight individual titles: Brennan only trails Bill Haas (10) and Gary Hallberg (9)
• Earned Co-Medalist honors at the 2024 ACC Championships and earned All-ACC honors four times during his time with the Demon Deacons
• Won the Middle Atlantic Amateur Championship in 2017, 2018, and 2019
• Won the 2019 Virginia State Amateur Championship

Competition notes

 

Course setup: Par 72 / 7,352 yards; R1 average: 70.544

Weather: Sunny with a high of 25 (77). Wind from the north at 3-10 km/h with gusts up to 16 km/h.  

• Fortinet Cup No. 1 Michael Brennan holds the 18-hole lead after carding an 11-under 61 in the first round: Brennan made 10 birdies and one eagle enroute to the first-round lead.
• Nathan Franks played the four par-5s at 7-under on Thursday, and made eagle on No. 2, No. 6, and No. 15.
• Alberta native Hunter Thomson is T9 after carding a 6-under 66 on Thursday.
• Edmonton native Will Holan is T35 after the first round after shooting a 4-under 68.
• Hole No. 15, the 579-yard par-5 played as the easiest hole at Northern Bear Golf Course on Thursday (-0.571 strokes over par).
• Hole No. 17, the 240-yard par-3, played as the toughest hole at Northern Bear Golf Course on Thursday (+0.231 strokes over par).