Ben Griffin Claims First PGA Tour Title at Colonial

Ben Griffin, leading by five shots just five holes into the final round at Colonial, anticipated a challenging finish. His co-leader, Matti Schmid, kept the pressure on until the very end.

Griffin's first individual PGA Tour victory came after a month of celebrating a team win, as he shot a 1-over 71 to finish at 12-under 268 in the Charles Schwab Challenge. Schmid, who struggled alongside him in the gusty winds of up to 30 mph, finished just one stroke behind.

The Texas tournament boasted a purse of $9.5 million, with Griffin taking home $1,710,000 as the winner. Schmid's late-game performance forced Griffin to sink a crucial 4-foot par putt on the 72nd hole after Schmid's chip from deep rough found the cup for birdie. Griffin, standing in a bunker with the ball above his feet, managed to save par.

"First of all, it was like whack-a-mole hitting that third shot," Griffin reflected. "In my head, I was thinking Matti might probably make that. Fortunately, I had that 4-footer. I felt pretty good over it. Just left edge and trust it," he added.

Both players had identical scores for the first three days of the tournament. Schmid initially surged ahead during the third round, but Griffin regained control early in the final round. Despite a two-shot swing at hole 16 that brought Schmid within one stroke, Griffin managed to extend his lead back to two by the final hole.

Scottie Scheffler, ranked world No. 1 and a local favorite after winning the PGA Championship last week, struggled to maintain momentum. Starting six shots back, he could only muster two birdies and a bogey for a 69, finishing at 8 under and tying for fourth place.

"Overall it was a really challenging day," Scheffler said. "I think Friday probably hurt me in terms of winning this tournament, but overall three of the four days I played what I felt was pretty solid," he noted.

Rickie Fowler's performance also faltered; he began slowly and ultimately fell out of contention after a double bogey on the par-5 11th. Ranked 127th entering the tournament, Fowler shot a 74.

Griffin previously teamed with Andrew Novak to win at the Zurich Classic in New Orleans last month. The duo had left openings for competitors then, much like Griffin did on Sunday.

Despite both players finishing over par in the final round, Griffin and Schmid maintained their positions at the top of the leaderboard. Schmid recorded six bogeys and a double bogey alongside six birdies, while Griffin had four bogeys after starting strong with an eagle and a birdie.

"No lead is ever safe on the PGA Tour," Griffin remarked. "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," he explained.

Griffin hit only four of 14 fairways and seven of 18 greens but made critical par putts on the back nine, including one on the par-4 14th that extended his lead when Schmid missed a shorter putt for par.

Schmid closed in by hitting his tee shot within three feet at the par-3 16th before Griffin missed a par putt. The momentum shifted again when Griffin saved par from behind a tree while Schmid aimed away from the hole with his ball plugged in a bunker, ultimately making bogey.

"The only two places were right of the green or long left," Schmid explained. "I think then I would have had to chip up and over. At that point I just tried to make a five, and thankfully I did it," he said.

On the final hole, Schmid made things interesting again. "Honestly I just tried to hit it long left a little bit," he said. "Hit it pretty high so it would stop quite quickly and just came out a bit right and went in. A bit of luck, but deserved it," he concluded.

Tommy Fleetwood also provided excitement on hole 18 after shooting a 31 on the front nine but lost steam with a bogey at 11. His birdie putt on the final hole lingered on the lip of the cup for nearly 30 seconds before finally dropping in due to gusting winds. Fleetwood finished with a score of 68, tying Scheffler for his 41st top-10 finish on the PGA Tour—the most by any player without a victory since 1983.