Ben Griffin showed steely resolve on the final hole of the Charles Schwab Challenge to make par and claim his first PGA Tour title on Sunday.
Griffin had been tied with Matti Schmid for three rounds at Colonial until Sunday, when he carded a one-over 71 to edge his rival by one stroke and win his first title in seven years as a professional.
But it wasn’t easy. A tumultuous round saw Griffin back up his eagle on the opening hole with a birdie. When Schmid double bogeyed the par-four fifth, Griffin found himself in the lead by five.
The drama continued as Griffin bogeyed the next two holes and then dropped two shots on the back nine, seemingly falling apart.
On the last hole, Schmidt chipped in from the rough on the side of the green for birdie, forcing Griffin to make par for the win. The American was also greenside, but had to grip way down on the club as the ball was well above his feet. The awkward chip rolled to within four feet and Griffin held his nerve to drain the return putt.
“First of all, it was like whack-a-mole hitting that third shot,” the 29-year-old told AP.
“In my head, I was thinking Matti might probably make that. Fortunately, I had that four-footer. I felt pretty good over it. Just left edge and trust it.
“No lead is ever safe on the PGA Tour. It can feel like a tournament’s done. Maybe if it’s Scottie Scheffler with a five-shot lead, it’s done. I was trying to keep the pedal down. I kept hitting a lot of drivers, kept trying to give myself birdie putts. I just didn’t give myself a lot of birdie putts.”
Schmid would finish solo second, followed by Bud Cauley alone in third. Tommy Fleetwood shot 68 to tie Scottie Scheffler in fourth. For Fleetwood, it was his 41st top ten finish on the PGA Tour, the most by a player without a victory since 1983.
