Ben Griffin endured a hugely disappointing finish to his final event before the Ryder Cup after missing a short birdie putt to set up a playoff with Scottie Scheffler at the Procore Championship.
Scottie Scheffler has yet another win under his belt after emerging victorious at the Procore Championship on Sunday. The world number one started the final day in Napa two shots behind Ben Griffin.
However, by the time Griffin approached the 18th green at Silverado, he needed a two-putt birdie to force a playoff with Scheffler.
After leaving his long eagle attempt short, the 29-year-old faced a putt of around six feet to move level with Scheffler. However, Griffin’s putt barely hit the hole and ensured that it would be Scheffler who secured his sixth victory in his last 12 starts.
Keegan Bradley left with food for thought ahead of the Ryder Cup after Ben Griffin’s finish at the Procore Championship
Of course, like Scheffler, Griffin is gearing up for the Ryder Cup at Bethpage. The Charles Schwab Challenge winner is set to make his debut in the event after receiving a captain’s pick from Keegan Bradley.
Some had wondered whether Griffin may get overlooked with many anticipating that Bradley would pick himself for New York. But it appeared that Griffin largely justified his captain’s faith in California.
Unfortunately, that putt to force a playoff is going to be difficult for Griffin to forget about in the coming days.
And speaking on Golf Channel, Tripp Isenhour insisted that it has now become imperative that Bradley gives Griffin an early opportunity to put that moment behind him once he gets to Bethpage.
“Absolutely [this gives Bradley reason for concern]. And guess what, he’s saying poa annua greens, Bethpage has poa annua in their greens. I’m sure he’s happy with the way he struck the golf ball, but Ryder Cups come down to making pressure putts,” he said.
“Now, I don’t see Ben Griffin in an anchor match on Sunday in the singles, but those kind of things are definitely where you’re going to have to rely on him to sure that part of his game up. This year he’s made plenty of pressure putts. He has. You don’t win two times on the PGA Tour if you haven’t done it, and really have the season he’s had. He’s had 11 top 10 finishes now this season. So very consistent performance. But again, to your point, the pressure here is minute compared to what it’s going to be at the Ryder Cup, and if you’ve got a little bit of nerves in there, he’s going to have to really ramp up his practice and put a lot of pressure on himself.
“It’s the only way you can try to do it is simulate it, but again, I give him credit for the year he’s had, but I think Keegan’s going to have to maybe just make sure he’s with the right person when he gets him out – and gets him out early, that will be the other key. You’ll want him as early as you can get him so he can get used to it.”
The player Ben Griffin said he wanted to play alongside at the Ryder Cup
Obviously, one of the big decisions Bradley still faces is choosing his pairings for the first two days. Some partnerships seem obvious, such as Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay.
But with Griffin among the rookies, there is plenty of room to debate who would be best to pair him with. Interestingly, he has already suggested a potential partner he would be very happy with.
Speaking earlier this year, Griffin claimed he would enjoy playing with Bryson DeChambeau.
“I think I would pair up well with most of the guys, I would say I’m pretty friendly with everyone. I think it would be fun if I continue on this trend of hitting it further and getting stronger playing with DeChambeau would be really fun. Try to hit a bunch of bombs out there with him. I still feel like I need to get a bit more speed to get to hang with him,“ he said.
Pairing DeChambeau with anyone in foursomes would be a gamble given how unique his game is. But certainly, it would do Griffin’s confidence the world of good to have the LIV Golf star alongside him in fourballs on that Friday afternoon in New York.
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