Ryan Brehm didn’t have a lot going for him when he showed up at the Puerto Rico Open this week.
His minor medical extension was just about up and he needed a win or solo second in this opposite-field event to keep his PGA Tour status.
And at age 35, it’s not like he has a lot of time in front of him. He’d never managed a top 10 finish in a PGA Tour event.
Brehm came through in a big way on Sunday at the Grand Reserve Club with birdies on five of his first 11 holes to build a big lead. Things were going nicely until a huge wind and rain storm blew through with six holes to play.
Brehm, with wife Chelsey on the bag, weathered the storm easily, he was six in front with five holes to play and parred in for a closing 67 and a 20-under total that was just one shot off the tournament’s 72-hole record. He finished a half-dozen shots better than runner-up Max McGreevy and seven better than Brandon Wu and Tommy Gainey.
The former Michigan State golfer started the day with a three-shot lead and never looked back.
“I literally have no words,” said an overjoyed Brehm, who made only one bogey in 72 holes. “I think the real lesson here is I have people on my team that will do anything for me. I just need to put my head down and hit good golf shot after good golf shot. That’s my job and I’m going to trust people around me.”
With his win, Brehm earned a two-year exemption, a spot in this week’s Players Championship, a spot in the PGA Championship in May and a spot in the field at the 2023 Tournament of Championship in Hawaii.
Retief In A Runaway At Hoag Classic:
It was no contest in Newport Beach on Sunday as two-time U.S. Open champ Retief Goosen outclassed the field and won the Hoag Classic by four shots.
Goosen closed with an eight-under par 63 that left K.J. Choi four shots behind him despite Choi’s closing 65 at Newport Country Club.
Lee Janzen (69) and Stephen Ames (67) tied for third at nine-under.
