Ben Griffin proved exactly why Keegan Bradley included him on his team for the Ryder Cup with his performance at the Procore Championship this past week.
While the Procore Championship ended in disappointing fashion for Ben Griffin, the 29-year-old can take so many positives from his trip to Napa. He registered an 11th top 10 finish on the PGA Tour this year, with two wins also under his belt.
Of course, Griffin’s tally of victories would have been doubled had it not been for Scottie Scheffler.
Some will be worried about Griffin missing a six foot putt on the last to force a playoff with the world number one. Ultimately, what happens on the greens at Bethpage is going to go a long way to deciding which captain leaves New York with the Samuel Ryder trophy.
However, Smylie Kaufman believes that Griffin has given Keegan Bradley a completely different problem with his performance at Silverado.
The problem Ben Griffin may have given Keegan Bradley ahead of the Ryder Cup
Some feared Griffin would miss out on a pick in the first place. He is a rookie and he plays a different golf ball to the rest of the team. So that would seemingly make him an outside candidate to play in the alternate shot sessions over the first two days.
But speaking on The Smylie Show, Kaufman insisted that Bradley cannot afford to not have Griffin tee it up on Friday morning after watching his display at the Procore Championship.
“My only takeaway from this is how can you find a way to get Ben Griffin in foursomes, that’s my biggest question. How can you get the golf ball that he plays into foursomes? Who can play the Maxfli ball? Because he has proven to me that he needs to be out in that first session Friday morning.
“He’s proven it time and time again that it doesn’t matter the stage. I know we keep talking floor and ceilings, but so much of this is important because you want to know a guy’s not going to go out and shoot something that would be considered an over par performance.
“Ben Griffin’s going to go out and at least be even or better in whatever his shot value is. That is good enough to win matches. You can play average and win matches. You can play good and lose matches in the Ryder Cup. But I sure as heck wouldn’t have Ben Griffin sitting that Friday morning.”
How important the golf ball is in foursomes at the Ryder Cup
From the outside, it can appear to be a little baffling that 24 of the world’s best players may struggle to find a way to play at something like their highest level when not using their usual golf ball.
But the margins are so tight, particularly in the Ryder Cup. Phil Mickelson claimed his partnership with Tiger Woods in 2004 failed because he was given so little time to prepare with the right ball.
Ultimately, there is a reason that Griffin uses a Maxfli ball. And clearly, it has helped turn him into one of the best performers on the planet this year.
Perhaps Bradley already had plans in place which will see Griffin play in the foursomes. But given how important a fast start and securing the momentum is, he must have been tempted to rely on some of the more established partnerships in that opening session.
Clearly, Kaufman believes that Griffin has thrown a real spanner in the works.
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