Scottie Scheffler has returned to glory on the PGA Tour, narrowly beating Ben Griffin to win the Procore Championship.
Griffin’s putting let him down as he lost out to Scheffler by one shot, having started Sunday with a two-shot lead.
Scheffler didn’t worry Griffin at that stage, but the former eventually overcame the latter to claim his 19th PGA Tour title.
The victory arrives just before both Scheffler and Griffin play for America at the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black.
The Procore Championship winner qualified automatically, with the runner-up picked by captain Keegan Bradley.
Scottie Scheffler shares what his relationship with Ben Griffin is like after Procore Championship win
Their relationship has emerged ahead of the tournament, with Scheffler having been asked following his win if he needed to make an effort to get to know Griffin better as his Ryder Cup chances increased.
The world number one replied: “There would certainly be an aspect to that if, I mean, if he was a very new guy on Tour. Ben’s actually a guy I spent a lot of time with in junior golf.
“We used to play practice rounds together in junior and amateur golf. He’s been a buddy of mine for a long time.
“I feel like the Tour sometimes is just like a little bit of a traveling fraternity. We see the same guys week in and week out.
“We travel the country and world sometimes together. We have a good time. It does feel like a fraternity at times.
“I have some of my best friends in the whole world out here on Tour, and I feel like I know a lot of the guys out here really well.
“So it would be very rare to have a guy coming into the team room that we didn’t know very well just because we see each other week in, week out out here.
“If a guy’s… typically if you’re playing well enough to make the team, you’re going to be playing a lot with other guys that are playing good enough to make the team.
“It would be pretty rare there’s a guy that’s not towards the lead a lot of the time throughout the year, if that makes sense.”
Scottie Scheffler makes Ben Griffin prediction for the Ryder Cup
Scheffler was also tasked with sharing his verdict on Griffin’s remarkable history on the PGA Tour, and golf in general.
While the former was making his Ryder Cup debut at Whistling Straits in 2021, the latter was working as a mortgage advisor.
Asked if his rise since then has been impressive, Scheffler said of Griffin: “You know, I think Ben always had the belief that he was going to be out here.
“I don’t know if he was an accountant or whatever for that long. I don’t know what he was… Loan mortgage officer.
“When you talk to Ben, he’s a guy that has a lot of confidence, he’s got a lot of self belief. That’s what we love about him being a part of our Ryder Cup team.
“Like you said, that’s kind of a weird thing to think about. Like I said, I grew up with Ben. He always had the talent to make it out here.
“He’s been a tremendous putter for his entire… as long as I’ve known him, and his ball-striking has really come around, and he’s also picked up some speed. Ben’s a guy that has always put in I think a ton of work and he’s always looking to improve.
“He’s never lacked confidence and he’s going to be a great part of our Ryder Cup team this year, and I’m sure he’ll be a part of many teams going forward as well.”
Whether or not Scheffler and Griffin will join forces at the Ryder Cup remains to be seen, but it could prove to be a formidable partnership.
Both of Griffin’s career wins have arrived this season, while his two runner-up finishes have been at the hands of Scheffler.
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