It wasn’t the steadiest of final rounds, but Ben Griffin’s deft short game and clutch putting down the stretch enabled him to win the Charles Schwab Challenge by one shot over Matti Schmid.
It was the second victory of the season and the first individual title for Griffin, who teamed with Andrew Novak last month to win the Zurich Classic. The 29-year-old earned $1.71 million for his 12-under-par 268 total at historic Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas.
“It was incredible to win today,” said Griffin, who closed with a 1-over 71. “I know it didn’t maybe look like it, but I felt really calm and confident over a lot of putts. I don’t know if I necessarily would have felt that way maybe a year ago, but I just feel like I’m in a really good place with my golf game.”
Bud Cauley shot a final-round 67 to finish alone in third at 9 under. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, coming off consecutive victories at the Byron Nelson and the PGA Championship, shot a 69 to tie for fourth at 8 under with Tommy Fleetwood, who shot 68, four shots behind Griffin.
Hot Start for Griffin
Griffin and Schmid, of Sweden, had both shot rounds of 66, 63 and 68 to enter the final round tied for the lead at 13 under. Griffin charged ahead with an eagle at the par-5 first and a birdie at the par-4 second while Schmid went birdie-bogey to fall three behind.
Schmid’s double bogey on the fifth hole gave Griffin a five-shot lead. But after his fast start on the first two holes, Griffin played his next 14 holes in 4 over with four bogeys, including two down the stretch.
“The back nine was quite the grind,” Griffin said.
When he bogeyed the par-3 16th and Schmid made birdie, Griffin’s lead was one shot. A bogey by Schmid on the 17thgave Griffin a more comfortable lead, and he needed it.
Final Hole Heroics for Schmid and Griffin
On the 440-yard par-4 18th hole, Griffin’s tee shot finished in the right rough. His approach from 133 yards found the grassy brow of the front-left bunker, which would force him to stand in the bunker and choke down to the metal shaft of his club to hit the waist-high ball. He chopped the ball onto the green, almost holing the chip, leaving himself a 4-foot putt.
“It was like whack-a-mole hitting that third shot,” Griffin said. “Gripped down to about the hosel on the wedge.”
Schmid’s approach had landed on an embankment left of the green, leaving him a difficult short-sided pitch. Schmid lofted the ball high in the air, landing it softly on the green, and threw up his arms when the ball rolled into the cup for a birdie.
Now needing to make his par putt, Griffin, who grew up in Chapel Hill, N.C., and spent hours honing his short game at a public course, calmly stroked the 4-footer into the hole for the win.
“I’m proud of the way I scrambled down the stretch,” he said. “(That was) a hell of a chip-in by Matti on 18 to apply the pressure. That was crazy. After he chipped in, I was, like, ‘All right, I guess have you to make this one now.’
“To be the last man standing on 18 is an incredible, incredible feeling, something I’ve gotten to soak in twice in the last month. It’s one that I want to keep feeling.”
Defending Champ Scheffler Heads Hield at ‘Jack’s Place’
Scheffler seeks to defend his title in the Memorial Tournament, a signature event at the Jack Nicklaus-designed Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio. With a win, he would join Tiger Woods (1999-2001) as the only players to successfully defend their title at the Memorial.
Also in the field are World No. 3 Xander Schauffele, No. 4 Collin Morikawa, No. 5-ranked Justin Thomas. 2023 champion Viktor Hovland, Jordan Spieth and 2014 winner Hideki Matsuyama.
