Ben Griffin’s Memorial ‘Disappointment’ proves he’s Ryder Cup ready

Ben Griffin may have finished runner-up to Scottie Scheffler at the Memorial Tournament on Sunday, but he showed the golf world one thing: he has what it takes to compete on the U.S. Ryder Cup team in September.

After missing a short birdie try on the par-5 11th and bogeying the par-3 12th, Griffin quickly faced a four-shot deficit to Scheffler, who began the day with a one shot lead over him. Many could have predicted that Griffin, who quit pro golf temporarily in 2021 to work as a mortgage loan officer, would continue to falter down the stretch, but the North Carolinian did the opposite: he fired back.

On the par-5 15th, Griffin stuck a 7-wood to 12 feet and then buried the eagle putt, moments after Scheffler missed an eagle try of his own. Then, with the honor, Griffin found the putting surface on the par-3 16th and calmly rolled in his 27-footer for birdie. Suddenly, Scheffler’s four shot lead became two with two to play.

But a wayward drive on the 17th hole led to a double-bogey six and ultimately, a four shot loss to the World No. 1.

“Definitely disappointed,” Griffin said of his solo second finish.

“I made it exciting there at the end for a couple holes. But yeah, it’s funny, I’d take this finish, a year ago, two years ago, three years ago. I’m definitely a little disappointed to not have made it a little bit closer or gotten it done.”

Ben Griffin Building a Ryder Cup Resume

Last week, Griffin held a share of the 54-hole lead at the Charles Schwab Challenge and shot a 1-over 71 to win by a stroke. The win at Colonial marked Griffin’s first solo win on the PGA Tour. His only other victory came at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, where he teamed up with Andrew Novak. In between those starts, Griffin tied for eighth at the PGA Championship, his best finish in a major by far.

“I’ll learn from some of my swings down the stretch, I’ll remember some of the good stuff, and I’ll bounce back and get right back to it,” Griffin added.

“So overall, great week, but, yeah, definitely a little disappointed with the second.”

That feeling of ‘disappointment’ shows that Griffin has the fire to compete in golf’s most sacred and intense competition at Bethpage Black. The way he bounced back on the 15th and 16th holes does as well. Not only did he rally, but he did so while staring down the best player on the planet.

It’s also worth noting that Griffin pulled a driver out on the 14th tee, a hole that presents plenty of danger with water along the right side of the green. But it’s also drivable.

“We were doing the math, and there’s wind, and I knew I needed to do something to beat him,” Griffin said of his decision on 14.

His tee shot wound up dry, settling in the rough just along the right side of the green. But he failed to get up-and-down for birdie. Still, that match play mentality almost paid off.

Yet, Griffin struggled on the greens on Sunday.

“For some reason I didn’t feel as comfortable on the greens as I did the first three rounds and then going back to last week at the Charles Schwab,” Griffin admitted.

“So I did a good job towards the end feeling things out and kind of getting those feelings back. It just kind of stings, but yeah, [Scheffler] is a heck of a golfer. He’s the best in the world.”

Although his short game let him down, his mental fortitude did not. Griffin displayed tremendous confidence in a big time event, all while playing with a three-time major winner and a legend in the making. Nothing phased him.

“I can compete out here, I can get it done. I got it done last week. Maybe haven’t made it look as easy as I wish it would the last couple weeks, but I know I’m going to finish one of these off with a bunch of birdies soon and really dominate one,” Griffin said.

“I had chances this week to separate myself, and this golf course is just, you got to lock in on every single shot. It’s not that I wasn’t locked in, it’s just comes down to a little bit of execution. I struggled on my right-to-lefters today, and missed that one on 18 last night and it’s kind of bothering me right now, so I’m going to work on my right-to-left putts, no doubt, this off week.

“But from a mental stained point I felt really good out there. I felt calm, I felt like I was engaged with the fans, which was really fun. I was able to balance that and also keeping my swagger on the course and playing well. So I know I can get it done at one of these Signature Events and majors, it’s just only a matter of time.”

Griffin’s recent success has vaulted him into the top 12 of the U.S. Ryder Cup rankings, and at this point, it would be a mistake for Captain Keegan Bradley to leave him off the team.

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