From junior events to the PGA Tour, Ben Griffin and Ryan Gerard share a special bond

USA Today

5 days ago

Wednesday steak night has become a tradition unlike any other for PGA Tour pro Ryan Gerard and caddie Alex Ritthamel.
It began early this season when Ritthamel, who caddies for Ben Griffin, stayed at Gerard's home during the Cognizant Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
'Ever since that event, either Ben or I has basically finished top-10 every week that we've done it, so we kind of kept it going just out of superstition,' Gerard said.
That includes in New Orleans, where Griffin tasted victory on the PGA Tour for the first time in the team event with Andrew Novak, and Dallas, where he won individually. Just two weeks ago, it was Gerard's turn to notch his maiden Tour title. Not too shabby for teammates at University of North Carolina who are enjoying two of the most notable breakout seasons this year.
'I think I'd like a little credit for making Alex well fed,' Gerard said.
Who picks up the tab for dinner is determined by who makes more money in a given week. Each time Griffin won, Ritthamel ended up digging into his back pocket for his wallet to pay for dinner. It almost happened a third time at the Memorial but Scottie Scheffler is a force to be reckoned with and successfully defended his title.
'I was a little bit bummed at Memorial this year when you didn't close the deal,' Gerard told Griffin, 'because I made like $4,000 more than him that week, so then I was on the hook for dinner the next week. Yeah, you know, try and win Memorial next year.'
But Gerard happily will buy Griffin's dinner for his wise counsel as Gerard debated flying to Northern Ireland, where he was second alternate for the British Open at Royal Portrush. Griffin told him that he already was in the Barracuda Championship, which was held in Truckee, California, and to go there and win the thing. Gerard did just that and so Griffin is waiting for Gerard to give him his cut of his winnings.
'Just 50 percent of his earnings is all,' Griffin joked. 'I've been looking on Zelle and Wells Fargo and Merrill accounts, nothing's hit yet.'
'If he's so inclined, I will treat him to dinner on a Wednesday night of his choosing,' Gerard promised.
These two friends, who were raised little more than an hour apart from each other, first played a junior event together at University of North Carolina's Finley Golf Course when Gerard was 9 or 10, Griffin about 12. They became fast friends, even if Griffin gave him a hard time when Gerard was a freshman at UNC.
'When you get out here and you have like one of your best friends playing practice rounds with you all the time and kind of rooting for you, it was awesome seeing him win multiple times early this year, and inspirational,' Gerard said. 'I can't let him get too far ahead of me in the win column so we've got to rein it in here a little bit. Just to see what he's done all season has been awesome and I hope he continues doing it, and if he continues doing it, I'm going to keep on his heels pushing him.'
Griffin took a job selling insurance for a short time before resuming his pro golf aspirations. Gerard witnessed how hard Griffin worked on 100 degree days in the summer to get ready for Q-School.
'It wasn't just a fluke. Like he wanted it from the first moment that I met him, and he got to a point where I feel like it got difficult and there were a lot of decisions that he had to make.
"But for him to go out and earn it, really, really dig his heels in and make sure that he wasn't going to let anyone stand in the way of him and his dream when he got his second opportunity,' Gerard said. 'Second chances are rare and when you get them you want to take advantage of them as you can.'
Gerard can relate. When he got his latest chance to be in the trophy hunt, he recalled advice from UNC men's basketball coach Roy Williams, who texts Gerard every couple of weeks with words of encouragement. That included reminding him that legendary Tarheels men's basketball coach Dean Smith made it to four Final Fours before he finally got to cut down the nets. Gerard kept his cool to the end in claiming his first Tour title at the Barracuda.
'It's something that you work your entire life for. You never want to get ahead of yourself. You never want to feel like you put the cart before the horse and you let it slip away from you,' he said. 'But walking up knowing that you were going to win a PGA Tour event and I've spent hours and hours and hours on driving ranges and putting greens and golf courses and on airplanes since I was 5, 6 years old with a goal to win, kind of seeing all those moments kind of flash before you to end up culminating in a really special goal with a lot of people that have helped me along the way, it was pretty special.'
Worthy of a Wednesday night steak dinner.