SHERWOOD PARK, Alberta – Michael Brennan and Derek Hitchner are tied for the lead after 54 holes at the ATB Classic and will play together in the final group on Sunday for the third time this season.

After starting the third round with a four-stroke lead, Brennan carded a 2-over 74 on Saturday, while Hitchner turned in a 2-under 70 to take a share of the lead heading into the final round.

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 Rapidisimo Golf Championship and has only finished outside of the top 15 three times this season.

After a runner-up finish at the CRMC Championship presented by Northern Pacific Center, Hitchner entered the week at No. 21 in the Fortinet Cup. After carding a 1-over 37 on the front nine, Hitchner made four straight birdies on Nos. 12-15 to tie the lead. After missing the cut in his first four starts of the North America Swing, Hitchner has finished in the top 15 in two of his last three starts.

All players finished second-round play on Saturday, with 61 players making the cut at 5-under. Final round tee times are expected to run from 7:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. MDT in twosomes off the No. 1 tee on Sunday.

Charting the leaders

About Michael Brennan (T1/-15)

 

• Third win would come at the age of 23 years, 7 months and 5 days
• Will play in the final group for the fourth time in his career and third time in the last four events
• Carded an 11-under 61 in the first round, breaking the course record at Northern Bear Golf Course by two strokes
• 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

About Derek Hitchner (T1/-15)

 

• First win would come at the age of 25 years, 11 months and 11 days
• Best finish of the season came at the CRMC Championship presented by Northern Pacific Center, where he finished as the runner-up
• Making his 30th start across PGA TOUR Americas after turning professional in 2023; making his third start at the CRMC Championship presented by Northern Pacific Center; best finish came in 2023 (T34)
• During his senior season at Pepperdine, Hitchner was named to the West Coast Conference First-Team in 2023 and earned Co-Player of the Year in honors
• Named the Minnesota Golf Association Player of the Year after winning the Minnesota Amateur Championship in 2021
• Was the 2017 Minnesota Golf Association Junior Boys Player of the Year

Competition notes

 

Course setup: Par 72, 7,352 yards; R3 average: 71.803
Weather: Sunny with a high of 25 (78). Wind from the southeast at 8-16 km/h with gusts up to 29 km/h.  

• Fortinet Cup No. 1 Michael Brennan and Derek Hitchner share the 54-hole lead heading into the final round of the ATB Classic and will play together in the final group for the third time in the last four events. Brennan and Hitchner previously played in the final group together at the BioSteel Championship and CRMC Championship presented by Northern Pacific Center
• Beau Breault (T3) and Jack Lundin (T6) carded the low-rounds of the day, 7-under 65.
• Monday qualifier Luke Gutschewski, who entered the week at No. 124 in the Fortinet Cup, is projected to move to No. 55 in the points list after the third round.
• Hole No. 15, the 579-yard par 5, played as the easiest hole at Northern Bear Golf Course on Saturday (-0.475 strokes over par).
• Hole No. 13, the 200-yard par 3, played as the toughest hole at Northern Bear Golf Course on Saturday (+0.344 strokes over par).