Ben Griffin (-12) has won the Charles Schwab Challenge after signing a final card of 71 strokes, one over par for the course, at a Colonial that was extremely challenging, with very firm greens. On this course, with the Bermuda rough, it’s essential to hit fairways to leave good birdie opportunities, and it was even more so today, with greens like drums.
The final assault became practically a head-to-head between the winner and Matti Schmid (-11), although the German was too inconsistent: it’s true that he was the player who made the most birdies (6) this Sunday on a course, it must be stressed, that wasn’t set for great scores today, but at the end of the day, it’s very difficult to win a tournament if you also have to record up to six bogeys and a double bogey in the final round…
Griffin started like a rocket, with an eagle on the 1st hole and a birdie on the 2nd, and then just needed to manage his lead, with more or less difficulty (up to four bogeys fell between holes 3 and 18), although he still had to sink a putt of just over a metre on the 18th hole to avoid going into a playoff with the German, who had conjured up a late birdie, holing out from the rough with a fantastic lob shot.
The best result was a 65, five under on this par 70, which allowed Erik Van Rooyen (-2) to come from nowhere (he had started in the second group of the day, with less wind) and gain almost forty positions. Interestingly, that 65-stroke score is what Scottie Scheffler (-8) would have needed to reach the score that ultimately won. It’s true that the World Number One was pressing hard on the back nine, missing some good chances that could have added a lot of spice to the final outcome, but it’s also fair to say that he struggled to get going, didn’t manage to leave the ball very close to the flag in the first half of the round, and even had to work hard on some recoveries in this stretch. As mentioned: Colonial wasn’t set for many displays today, not even for Scheffler. Nevertheless, his Sunday round of 69 strokes and, above all, that final fourth place, don’t represent any blemish on his record. Quite the opposite: this guy drops top 5 finishes from his pocket without even noticing.
Griffin’s victory, having already won the Zurich Classic in pairs a month ago alongside Andrew Novak, is a tribute to all those fantastic players who probably aren’t among the best in any area of the game but manage to balance their rounds to achieve good results. Golf is just that: it doesn’t matter how, what matters is the number of strokes.
Indeed, the North Carolinian, who just turned 29 this May, doesn’t even appear among the top twenty in any of the numerous statistics managed by the PGA Tour this season, except perhaps in some that also depend (like the total number of birdies statistic) on the number of weeks you play. And on that point, as mentioned yesterday, no one beats Griffin, who this week played his 18th tournament of the year in 20 competitive weeks, as he didn’t have entry into the Sentry, the first tournament of the year.
To be completely fair, and examining his numbers in previous seasons, Griffin’s short game can and should be highlighted, especially those pure feel wedges from medium and short distances, because he’s certainly not a massive hitter, quite the opposite. In any case, it’s clear that we’re dealing with a very organised and stable player in strategy. With this victory, he’s going to smash his ceiling in the world ranking, which was Number 48, as he could well enter or hover around the top 25 in the world. We’ll see what he’s capable of from now on, especially because thanks to this victory, he’s also going to make an interesting leap in the American Ryder Cup standings…
