Ben Griffin is one of the players who probably could not have done a lot more to stake his claim for a Ryder Cup spot, with two victories under his belt on the PGA Tour.
As things stand, Ben Griffin is eighth in the qualification standings for the 2025 Ryder Cup. When you consider that many are confident that Keegan Bradley will be playing at Bethpage following his win at Travelers Championship, it is hard to imagine Griffin not being in New York in September.
Griffin won the Zurich Classic alongside Andrew Novak, while he followed that by triumphing at the Charles Schwab Challenge.
He has also registered top 10 finishes at the PGA Championship and the US Open. This year marks the first time he has even made the cut at a major championship.
How many points Ben Griffin would win at the Ryder Cup has been suggested
But of course, the Ryder Cup is like nothing else in men’s golf. While some rookies thrive in the atmosphere, others find the occasion much more difficult to handle.
Nevertheless, speaking on the Golf Channel Podcast about the idea of Bradley juggling the roles of player and captain, Ryan Lavner suggested that he could definitely see Griffin being able to contribute if he does indeed make the team.
“I think you can do it. Where John Wood, the new US team manager, can assume a lot of the administrative duties in the run up and he has certainly been bearing that burden for the past couple of months,” he said.
“I think you can hand over the majority of on site duties to a Jim Furyk, who has been there before and captained it. He is in the backroom staff now.
“He has just captained the Presidents Cup a year ago. I think you can have, Webb Simpson, a Kevin Kisner, Snedeker, getting in to a situation where he is also taking on added responsibility so I do think it can be done.
“I think the question though is why? Why would you do it? Just for the sake of history or legacy? Just so you can say that Keegan Bradley is the first playing captain since 1962. That’s not a reason to do it.
“Because if Keegan Bradley is only going to play two or three times you can find a host of other players who can do that, who can get you a point and a half if they are going to only play two or three times.
“I am of full confidence that Ben Griffin if you tee it up and give him three matches, he could squeeze out a point and a half at home particularly if you are putting him with what the analysts’ team says is a good partner. I have no problem with that whatsoever.
“It is why would you divide someone’s attention and focus intentionally when it just seems like an unnecessary risk for me. Either do one or the other. Doing both and doing it half heartedly doesn’t make any sense.”
The players outside the top six pushing to make the USA Ryder Cup team
Griffin will certainly feel that he has done enough to justify a pick. But he would be one of four rookies if Bradley’s team was made up of the top 12 players in the qualification standings right now.
Meanwhile, you have players such as Patrick Cantlay, Sam Burns, Cameron Young and Tony Finau, who will be needing to make a charge in the weeks to come. And Bradley is never going to completely discount someone like Jordan Spieth if he has a chance of being involved.
But Griffin’s performance in recent months cannot be ignored, particularly as one of his victories came alongside a teammate.
He is surely only a couple of impressive performances away therefore from booking his ticket to Bethpage.
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