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USA Today
10 hours ago
- Business
- USA Today
10 things to know about Ben Griffin, including his stint as a mortgage loan officer
10 things to know about Ben Griffin, including his stint as a mortgage loan officer Ben Griffin is on a serious heater. Unless you're a golf fan that has been living under a rock for the last month, you probably know that he's won twice – Zurich Classic of New Orleans with Andrew Novak and the Charles Schwab Challenge – and finished T-8 at the PGA Championship, his best result In a major. He enters the final round of the Memorial in Dublin, Ohio, one stroke back of Scottie Scheffler and suddenly he is looking like a serious contender for the U.S. Ryder Cup team. That's one of the many good reasons why it's about time you get to know Griffin. Mortgage-loan officer stint Griffin, 28, is best known for stepping away from his career as a professional golfer to become a mortgage loan officer in his native North Carolina. 'I'd lost my motivation and love for golf. The stress of playing with $15,000 of credit-card debt was agony, so I quit,' he told Golf Digest. But he resurrected his career in 2021 and has banked more than $11 million in 94 Tour starts. 'It provided me with a reset button,' Griffin tellsGolfweek. 'Doing something completely different is good for getting a fresh headspace.' Traveled the junior golf circuit solo Griffin grew up playing golf with his dad and grandpa. By the time he was 16, he was driving to tournaments solo and staying in hotels because both of his parents were working. 'I'd tell the front desk, 'Look, my dad is coming to check us in, don't worry. He's on a call and running behind. I just need a room key.' It worked every time.' Bleeds Tarheel Blue Both his parents went to the University of North Carolina and he grew up in Chapel Hill, practicing at the University of North Carolina Finley Golf Course. Once he started going to college there, his teammates complained that qualifying wasn't fair. 'I knew every break on those greens,' he said. 'It was a very easy transition for me.' Get rid of the yardage book Griffin suggests an unique solution for slow play – allow rangefinders (which the Tour is currently testing) but ban the yardage book. 'I think it would actually speed up play. Play the course how it looks. I know it's old school but do that and make it new school with a rangefinder,' he said. Maxfli Man A year ago, Griffin was testing golf balls. His caddie suggested he try Maxfli, the once popular brand in the 1970s and '80s, which has become a Dick's Sporting Goods house brand. He'd never used it before. 'I was shocked by the ball speed numbers,' he said. Griffin said he gained 2 miles per hour off the tee without sacrificing anything from a spin standpoint. He began using it in Tour events before he negotiated a deal to represent the brand. The story behind his Aviator-style sunglasses Like Corey Hart in the '80s classic song, Griffin doesn't wear his sunglasses at night but he's been wearing sunglasses on the course since the 2024 RBC Canadian Open last June, where he finished second, due to seeing floaters. Since that first week with a designer knockoff brand he happened to have in his bag, he's relied on U Swing sunglasses. 'It hasn't affected my vision – I still see floaters – but they darken things and make the floaters less defined,' he said. 'I think they also help me with reading greens and seeing slopes better.' For the full story on why he Venmo-ed $20 to pro CT Pan for the pair he wears, click here. The genesis of his lethal short game After winning the Charles Schwab Challenge in May thanks to an assortment of tidy up and downs, Griffin was asked how he developed such a reliable short game. His eyes watered and his voice cracked as he explained how his parents endured some tough times financially during the 2008 recession. Griffin's family had to downsize their home and give up the country club membership. There wasn't much money to spend on golf, let alone range balls. But his parents made sure there was a public golf course for him to use. "I would chip and putt all day," he said. "I would hit maybe a half bucket of balls for $5 or whatever it was, and my parents, they always considered themselves middle to upper class, but I knew there for a little bit when we lost our house, when we lost everything. I know they sacrificed a lot for me." The silver lining for Griffin? He became a short-game magician. He appreciates a good lawn Griffin moved last month from St. Simons Island, Ga., to Jupiter, Florida, and one of the benefits will be having a lawn in his backyard, where as a kid he liked to do some chipping. Griffin has a sponsorship deal with TruGreen, an official PGA Tour partner, and participated in the brand's marketing campaign alongside Patton Kizzire and Jason Day. "It was a very Hollywood experience," said Griffin, who is looking forward to getting the full TruGreen experience at his new pad. "I trust myself on a course, I've got to trust them with my lawn." Lifestyle change Griffin stopped drinking alcohol during the season and adopted a vegan diet at the suggestion of his girlfriend. 'Some people treat food like entertainment, but food is fuel. I eat for energy. Research says veganism helps with inflammation. I've never felt better,' he told Golf Digest. 'I needed to stop drinking during the season. I didn't have a drinking problem, but I was drinking like I was still in college. When you drink consistently, you think you feel good, but you don't. Now I feel incredible.' Distance gain is for real Griffin not only dropped the booze but started taking creatine. 'You still got to work really hard. I'm doing it more from the standpoint of muscle recovery, gaining muscle mass. You still have to work out if you're going to gain strength. It's not like the supplement is going to fix everything,' he said. 'But I would say on Tour probably 60 or 70 percent of guys are taking that substance." It's working. He's averaging 176 mph ball speed this year, up from 172 in 2024, and has gained about 17 yards off the tee. "The last three, four months, I really kind of locked in on that, trying to gain speed -- trying to still maintain flexibility and mobility. I mean, it's important. I'm on the road every week, I'm flying, I'm driving cars, none of it is good for my body. "My kind of goal has been to swing harder, get, like, a mile-per-hour faster or so every week or two. And I've just been on this nice trajectory right now. I'm trying not to push it too much, but definitely conscious of trying to hit it a little bit further. And I think I swing better when I hit it harder. It's weird, I feel like when I'm swinging hard I'm actually like hitting it kind of straighter. It's funky. Golf's a weird sport, but here I am. I guess I'm an athlete now," he said. Griffin pointed out that it was his hard work in the gym and not creatine, which has keyed his new-found length off the tee. 'I'm taking a bunch of different things. I passed my last drug test. I'm not doing anything illegal here from two weeks ago. I'm just trying to do the right things to take care of my body," he said. "I'm working out harder than I ever have, so I got to make sure I'm consuming a lot of protein. And, yeah, I feel like I'm doing the right things, just got to keep plugging along, and I'll keep taking creatine.'
New Straits Times
3 days ago
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Ben Griffin fires 65, sets early pace at Memorial
After winning a tournament on Sunday, Ben Griffin stayed hot Thursday by shooting a 7-under-par 65 to take the first-round lead at the Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio. Griffin made an 11 1/2-foot eagle at the par-5 seventh and had a three-birdie run at Nos. 16-18 at Muirfield Village Golf Club. He finished the day with a two-shot advantage over Collin Morikawa, a two-time runner-up at the tournament hosted by Jack Nicklaus. "My dad always used to tell me, 'Par the first and last holes,' and unfortunately, I birdied the first and the last," Griffin joked. Griffin, 29, won his first PGA Tour title last month at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans team event with Andrew Novak. He validated that victory with his first individual win this past week at the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club. It was clear he was not tired from the quick turnaround. "This is nothing. I started out the year playing 13 events in a row," Griffin said. .".. It's funny, I talked to a lot of my peers out here, and they don't understand how I do it. I think it's because I do a really good job resting on Mondays and Tuesday mornings. I don't really prepare for tournaments until pretty much Tuesday afternoons, unless it's a course that I'm not familiar with or maybe a major championship, I try to get a little extra prep in." Morikawa had five birdies through 14 holes before a wayward drive at the par-5 15th led to his lone bogey. He made up for it at the very next hole, rolling his tee shot at the par-3 16th just past the cup and making a 4-footer for birdie. "Honestly, I woke up today kind of not knowing how the swing was going to produce," Morikawa said. "I spent a couple hours on the range after the pro-am yesterday and was just trying to find something. Yeah, kind of went to some old swing thoughts, and it's hard to filter through that, but did it on the range, and kind of was just able to go play golf." In third place was Max Homa with a 4-under 68. Homa has fared better since parting with caddie Joe Greiner, who now works for Morikawa. Homa is searching for his first win on tour since January 2023. "My game feels about as good as it has in a very, very long time," Homa said, "and I knew that I think that brought some peace, which was nice, not feeling like I needed to do much. Then, yeah, you get off to a good start like that and it just kind of calms some of the nerves." U.S. Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley, Canadian Nick Taylor and Irishman Shane Lowry are tied for fourth at 3-under 69. World No. 1 and defending champion Scottie Scheffler opened with a 2-under 70. "I need to give myself some more looks," Scheffler said. "I felt like I was out of the fairway a bit too much today. I was able to hit a decent amount of greens, just giving myself a few more quality looks, I think, would be a big difference." The US$20 million signature event will feature a cut Friday from 72 players to the top 50 and ties, plus anyone within 10 shots of the lead. Only 13 players managed to shoot under par Thursday. Players who'll need to work to make the cut in the second round include Sweden's Ludvig Aberg (3-over 75), England's Matt Fitzpatrick (4-over 76) and Justin Rose (6-over 78), Wyndham Clark (78) and Justin Thomas (8-over 80).
The Advertiser
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Advertiser
Griffin sets early Memorial pace, Aussie trio misfire
After winning a tournament on Sunday, Ben Griffin stayed hot by shooting a seven-under-par 65 to take the first-round lead at the Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio. Griffin's card featured one eagle and a three-birdie run at Nos.16-18 at Muirfield Village Golf Club. He finished the day with a two-shot advantage over Collin Morikawa, a two-time runner-up at the tournament hosted by Jack Nicklaus. Griffin, 29, won his first PGA Tour title last month at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans team event with Andrew Novak. He validated that victory with his first individual win this past week at the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club. In third place was Max Homa with a four-under 68. Homa has fared better since parting with caddie Joe Greiner, who now works for Morikawa. Homa is searching for his first win on tour since January 2023. US Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley and Irishman Shane Lowry are tied for fourth at three-under 69 at the $20 million signature event, which will feature a cut Friday from 72 players to the top 50 and ties, plus anyone within 10 shots of the lead. World No.1 and defending champion Scottie Scheffler posted a two-under 70. Only 13 players managed to shoot under par Thursday. Australian trio Min Woo Lee (four-over 76), Cam Davis (78) and Adam Scott (79) are all battling to make the cut. Others also struggling to make the weekend include Sweden's Ludvig Aberg (75), England's Matt Fitzpatrick (76) and Justin Rose (78), Wyndham Clark (78) and Justin Thomas (80). After winning a tournament on Sunday, Ben Griffin stayed hot by shooting a seven-under-par 65 to take the first-round lead at the Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio. Griffin's card featured one eagle and a three-birdie run at Nos.16-18 at Muirfield Village Golf Club. He finished the day with a two-shot advantage over Collin Morikawa, a two-time runner-up at the tournament hosted by Jack Nicklaus. Griffin, 29, won his first PGA Tour title last month at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans team event with Andrew Novak. He validated that victory with his first individual win this past week at the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club. In third place was Max Homa with a four-under 68. Homa has fared better since parting with caddie Joe Greiner, who now works for Morikawa. Homa is searching for his first win on tour since January 2023. US Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley and Irishman Shane Lowry are tied for fourth at three-under 69 at the $20 million signature event, which will feature a cut Friday from 72 players to the top 50 and ties, plus anyone within 10 shots of the lead. World No.1 and defending champion Scottie Scheffler posted a two-under 70. Only 13 players managed to shoot under par Thursday. Australian trio Min Woo Lee (four-over 76), Cam Davis (78) and Adam Scott (79) are all battling to make the cut. Others also struggling to make the weekend include Sweden's Ludvig Aberg (75), England's Matt Fitzpatrick (76) and Justin Rose (78), Wyndham Clark (78) and Justin Thomas (80). After winning a tournament on Sunday, Ben Griffin stayed hot by shooting a seven-under-par 65 to take the first-round lead at the Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio. Griffin's card featured one eagle and a three-birdie run at Nos.16-18 at Muirfield Village Golf Club. He finished the day with a two-shot advantage over Collin Morikawa, a two-time runner-up at the tournament hosted by Jack Nicklaus. Griffin, 29, won his first PGA Tour title last month at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans team event with Andrew Novak. He validated that victory with his first individual win this past week at the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club. In third place was Max Homa with a four-under 68. Homa has fared better since parting with caddie Joe Greiner, who now works for Morikawa. Homa is searching for his first win on tour since January 2023. US Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley and Irishman Shane Lowry are tied for fourth at three-under 69 at the $20 million signature event, which will feature a cut Friday from 72 players to the top 50 and ties, plus anyone within 10 shots of the lead. World No.1 and defending champion Scottie Scheffler posted a two-under 70. Only 13 players managed to shoot under par Thursday. Australian trio Min Woo Lee (four-over 76), Cam Davis (78) and Adam Scott (79) are all battling to make the cut. Others also struggling to make the weekend include Sweden's Ludvig Aberg (75), England's Matt Fitzpatrick (76) and Justin Rose (78), Wyndham Clark (78) and Justin Thomas (80). After winning a tournament on Sunday, Ben Griffin stayed hot by shooting a seven-under-par 65 to take the first-round lead at the Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio. Griffin's card featured one eagle and a three-birdie run at Nos.16-18 at Muirfield Village Golf Club. He finished the day with a two-shot advantage over Collin Morikawa, a two-time runner-up at the tournament hosted by Jack Nicklaus. Griffin, 29, won his first PGA Tour title last month at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans team event with Andrew Novak. He validated that victory with his first individual win this past week at the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club. In third place was Max Homa with a four-under 68. Homa has fared better since parting with caddie Joe Greiner, who now works for Morikawa. Homa is searching for his first win on tour since January 2023. US Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley and Irishman Shane Lowry are tied for fourth at three-under 69 at the $20 million signature event, which will feature a cut Friday from 72 players to the top 50 and ties, plus anyone within 10 shots of the lead. World No.1 and defending champion Scottie Scheffler posted a two-under 70. Only 13 players managed to shoot under par Thursday. Australian trio Min Woo Lee (four-over 76), Cam Davis (78) and Adam Scott (79) are all battling to make the cut. Others also struggling to make the weekend include Sweden's Ludvig Aberg (75), England's Matt Fitzpatrick (76) and Justin Rose (78), Wyndham Clark (78) and Justin Thomas (80).
West Australian
3 days ago
- Sport
- West Australian
Griffin sets early Memorial pace, Aussie trio misfire
After winning a tournament on Sunday, Ben Griffin stayed hot by shooting a seven-under-par 65 to take the first-round lead at the Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio. Griffin's card featured one eagle and a three-birdie run at Nos.16-18 at Muirfield Village Golf Club. He finished the day with a two-shot advantage over Collin Morikawa, a two-time runner-up at the tournament hosted by Jack Nicklaus. Griffin, 29, won his first PGA Tour title last month at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans team event with Andrew Novak. He validated that victory with his first individual win this past week at the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club. In third place was Max Homa with a four-under 68. Homa has fared better since parting with caddie Joe Greiner, who now works for Morikawa. Homa is searching for his first win on tour since January 2023. US Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley and Irishman Shane Lowry are tied for fourth at three-under 69 at the $20 million signature event, which will feature a cut Friday from 72 players to the top 50 and ties, plus anyone within 10 shots of the lead. World No.1 and defending champion Scottie Scheffler posted a two-under 70. Only 13 players managed to shoot under par Thursday. Australian trio Min Woo Lee (four-over 76), Cam Davis (78) and Adam Scott (79) are all battling to make the cut. Others also struggling to make the weekend include Sweden's Ludvig Aberg (75), England's Matt Fitzpatrick (76) and Justin Rose (78), Wyndham Clark (78) and Justin Thomas (80).
Perth Now
3 days ago
- Sport
- Perth Now
Griffin sets early Memorial pace, Aussie trio misfire
After winning a tournament on Sunday, Ben Griffin stayed hot by shooting a seven-under-par 65 to take the first-round lead at the Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio. Griffin's card featured one eagle and a three-birdie run at Nos.16-18 at Muirfield Village Golf Club. He finished the day with a two-shot advantage over Collin Morikawa, a two-time runner-up at the tournament hosted by Jack Nicklaus. Griffin, 29, won his first PGA Tour title last month at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans team event with Andrew Novak. He validated that victory with his first individual win this past week at the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club. In third place was Max Homa with a four-under 68. Homa has fared better since parting with caddie Joe Greiner, who now works for Morikawa. Homa is searching for his first win on tour since January 2023. US Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley and Irishman Shane Lowry are tied for fourth at three-under 69 at the $20 million signature event, which will feature a cut Friday from 72 players to the top 50 and ties, plus anyone within 10 shots of the lead. World No.1 and defending champion Scottie Scheffler posted a two-under 70. Only 13 players managed to shoot under par Thursday. Australian trio Min Woo Lee (four-over 76), Cam Davis (78) and Adam Scott (79) are all battling to make the cut. Others also struggling to make the weekend include Sweden's Ludvig Aberg (75), England's Matt Fitzpatrick (76) and Justin Rose (78), Wyndham Clark (78) and Justin Thomas (80).
