Ben Griffin admits he got ‘so mad’ he could not hit one shot Rory McIlroy pulled off after weeks of practice

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Ben Griffin is unquestionably one of the players who has had an outstanding year on the PGA Tour, with the American in with a real chance of making his Ryder Cup debut in September.

Ben Griffin finished 61st in the FedEx Cup last year, having registered one runner-up finish on the PGA Tour. But he has found a completely different level in 2025.

He won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans alongside Andrew Novak. And he followed with his maiden individual victory on the PGA Tour at the Charles Schwab Challenge.

Griffin goes into the Wyndham Championship seventh in the FedEx Cup and 17th in the world rankings. He is also ninth in the qualification standings for the Ryder Cup.

But that does not mean that he is completely satisfied with his game right now.

Ben Griffin left ‘so mad’ after struggling to hit a shot Rory McIlroy can pull off

Griffin is currently 73rd on the PGA Tour for driving distance, having averaged 304.5 yards off the tee. His numbers have improved as the year has gone on, so it will be very interesting to see where he ranks in 2026.

However, he still has plenty of work to do, as he found out at the PGA Championship earlier this year.

Speaking on the No Laying Up Podcast, Griffin spoke about one tee shot in particular grabbing his attention in the weeks leading up to the second major of the year – due to how easy Rory McIlroy could make it look.

“I was never really in the PGA Tour trailers much. I was working out or stretching or doing whatever I do before my rounds last year at my hotel because I thought it was easier than having to go into a crammed PGA Tour trailer where sometimes you’ll have 10 guys in there and you can’t even move. But as I was in there, I was seeing Rory come in from time to time, I was seeing other guys, seeing what they were doing, some of the top players, how they were working out, and I was like man, I need to do even more or maybe even do more than what they do. So me and [his trainer] Derek set up a game plan and it’s been awesome to get stronger,” he said.

“Because of that, I’ve kind of been gaining more and more distance off the tee. I remember leading up to the PGA Championship at Quail, literally the three weeks prior, all I was thinking about was the bunker right of 16 fairway. It’s like 320 yards and every single time we play what was the Wells Fargo, now will be the Truist Championship, every single time Rory McIlroy teed off on that tee box, he took it over that bunker. And everyone else in the field is trying to fit it in left of it, but then there’s water and a slope down the left. It’s just one of the hardest holes.

“And all I could think about every single week leading up to the PGA Championship was I’ve got to carry that bunker. I was so mad because I was working out hard, I was practicing hard and was swinging hard on the range, I couldn’t carry that bunker and it was by like five yards every single time.

“Little things like that were motivating me to even hit it further because Rory’s gaining a shot and a half on the field on that one hole.”

The top five longest drivers on the PGA Tour, with Rory McIlroy second

McIlroy has been one of the best drivers of the golf ball throughout his career. While driving has not been one of McIlroy’s biggest strengths this year, there are arguably few sights better than watching the Northern Irishman in full flow with the longest club in the bag.

And he remains one of the biggest hitters on the PGA Tour. However, he is more than four yards adrift of the man leading the way this season.

It is going to take some effort for Griffin to put himself in a similar category. But he certainly does not lack the belief he will need to get there.