Golf star Ben Griffin reveals reason for wearing sunglasses as PGA ace opens up on vision battle
American hero needed key laser surgery to repair retinal holes
Battling Ben Griffin has revealed he could have lost his vision had he not received vital surgery to repair retinal holes in his eyes.
The American golf star is currently one of the hottest properties on the PGA Tour and being tipped for a shock Ryder Cup spot after recent successes at both the Zurich Classic with partner Andrew Novak and at the Charles Schwab Challenge.
Griffin has a distinctive look as he wears big dark shades around the golf courses, but it stems from a serious situation which came to a head during last year.
The 29-year-old has confirmed he had big problems with his sight and needed to have the laser treatment to stave off the worrying issue.
Asked about the wearing of sunglasses during The Memorial tournament, Griffin said: 'It's interesting. After learning a little bit more about my experience, I am a little surprised more golfers don't.
"I see floaters. I have really bad vision. About a year ago is when I started seeing floaters, went to an eye doctor, realised my retina was starting to kind of try to detach itself.
"I had retinal holes, so I had to go get basically laser surgery to fill in those holes. I had eight retinal holes in both eyes, so I was at risk of losing vision maybe within, you know, five or six months had I not gotten the treatment.
'I still see the floaters. It was just like I had to get the surgery just to maintain my level. Because of that, when I wear sunglasses, it's a little bit darker out, so I don't necessarily see the floaters as well.
"So if it's really bright and I'm not wearing the sunglasses, I look into the clouds or whatever and I see black stuff everywhere.'
Griffin's special sunglasses are an Asian brand called Uswing Mojing and the star, who is battling Scottie Scheffler at the top of the Memorial leaderboards, added: 'There's a few different golfers, professional golfers that wear them across all different tours.
"And they say the science behind them kind of helps with green reading and I think it's 100 percent true I love the ability to see the contrast a little bit better, than when it's really bright it's kind of hard to see maybe grain changes from time to time.
"So seeing contours is definitely a little bit easier I think with the sunglasses. And now, I guess I'm getting to the point where I have more and more fans and people like it, so I'm not going to stop wearing them, that's for sure.'
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