Golf, often seen as a sport of quiet fairways and measured swings, has a way of revealing the unexpected—on and off the course. In recent months, two stories from the world of golf have captured the imagination of fans for very different reasons: one a harrowing travel scare for a rising PGA Tour star, the other a remarkable tale of personal redemption that stretches from the first tee at Oakmont to the depths of federal prison and back again.
Michael Brennan, just 23 years old, made waves in October 2025 by winning his debut PGA Tour event, the Bank of Utah Championship. But before the cheers and the trophy, Brennan faced a moment that shook him to his core—far from the manicured greens of America, in the bustling streets of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. As reported by The Spun, Brennan was competing on the PGA Tour Americas, a circuit known for its far-flung venues and the relentless travel it demands of its players. It was during this stint that Brennan found himself in a situation he’d later describe as a near-death experience, at least in his own mind.
"I thought I was getting abducted in Rio," Brennan recounted during a candid appearance on ‘The Smylie Show.’ The trip through Rio’s infamous favelas—urban neighborhoods often marked by poverty and, in some cases, danger—was nerve-wracking enough. But when Brennan noticed his Uber driver voice-to-texting in Portuguese, taking screenshots of their route, and sending them to someone else, panic set in. "I'm getting told as I'm getting into Rio, ‘if you go into the favelas, you’re dead.’ We're driving kind of through one, and I'm freaking out…I'm sitting in the passenger seat so I can kind of see the driver, and he starts voice-to-texting (in Portuguese). Then he goes into the Uber app, I have a video on my phone, and starts screenshotting our route and final destination and sending it to someone on his phone."
For a few tense moments, Brennan was convinced he was in mortal danger. "It was a false alarm, but I thought we were dead," he admitted. Fortunately, the scare proved unfounded, and Brennan emerged unscathed. Months later, he would channel that resilience into a career-defining victory on the PGA Tour, shooting impressive rounds of 64 and 66 over the weekend to claim the title in Utah. The episode in Brazil, while terrifying at the time, is now just another chapter in Brennan’s young but eventful career—a vivid reminder of how the global nature of professional golf can sometimes bring unexpected challenges.
While Brennan’s brush with danger was fleeting, the journey of Joey Ferrari—a name well-known in Northern California golf circles—has been a saga of triumph, loss, and hard-won redemption. Ferrari’s story, detailed by No Laying Up and chronicled in regional golf media, reads like the script of a Hollywood drama. Born in Stockton, California, Ferrari didn’t even pick up a golf club until he was 11. By 14, he was already a tournament winner, showing signs of the competitive fire that would define his early career.
Ferrari’s rise was meteoric. He teed it up alongside legends like Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, and in 1994, he qualified for the U.S. Open at Oakmont—a dream for any amateur golfer. But nerves got the best of him on the first tee, prompting a now-famous quip: "I picked up my ball and said, ‘I’m gonna go play with Tom Watson.’ I was too nervous—I thought I was going to kill somebody with my tee shot in front of Arnie and Nicklaus." Even then, Ferrari’s flair for the dramatic was on full display.
Off the course, Ferrari built a successful business empire—owning toy companies, arcade and video game businesses, and local eateries. He notched runner-up finishes in the California State Amateur, Northern California Amateur, and U.S. Mid-Amateur. But the pressures of business and personal life began to mount. As Ferrari admitted, “I was taking meth every day like it was coffee. It pulled me out of the hectic world I’d built for myself.”
Despite his struggles, Ferrari’s talent never waned. Representing Northern California at the South American Championship in Peru, he won by seven shots—a testament to his enduring skill. Yet back home, his world was collapsing. Betrayed by business partners and facing a crumbling marriage, Ferrari lost everything and ended up homeless, living in a storage unit and riding a bike around Stockton. Desperation pushed him into the drug trade—a line he had once vowed never to cross. "Within eight months, I was doing a million a month in business," he confessed. But the fast money came at a steep price. Caught in a DEA sting, Ferrari was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison, just six years after standing on one of golf’s grandest stages.
Prison, however, became the crucible for Ferrari’s transformation. He suffered a heart attack and briefly flatlined—a moment he credits with saving his life. "I never recognized the severity of what I was doing," he reflected. That brush with death was the beginning of what he calls “Joey 2.0.” Ferrari has now been sober for 25 years, and after his release, he slowly returned to the game that had once defined him.
From 1998 to 2013, Ferrari didn’t play competitive golf. But when he finally returned, he found that the spark remained. In 2023, at age 67, he was named NCGA Super Senior Player of the Year, amassing 1,593 points and winning several local tournaments including the Antioch City Best-Ball, Stockton City Four-Ball, and NCGA Senior Four-Ball. The season came down to a single, nerve-wracking putt—a six-footer on the 18th hole at Poppy Hills. Sinking it gave him a narrow victory over his friend and NCGA Hall of Famer Casey Boyns. "Hallelujah! It feels so good to finally be a Player of the Year again. The old Joey is back. I am so grateful," Ferrari exclaimed.
Now 69, Ferrari continues to practice every day and has shot his age since he was 62—a remarkable achievement in itself. He competes locally, recently winning the NCGA Senior Valley Amateur in Stockton, but says he now plays simply for the joy of it. "No one can take that from you," he said. After everything he’s endured, Ferrari’s story stands as a powerful testament to perseverance, perspective, and the healing power of golf.
From the anxiety-laden streets of Rio to the redemptive fairways of Northern California, these stories remind us that golf, for all its traditions and etiquette, is still a game played by people—people who face real fears, real failures, and, sometimes, extraordinary second chances.
