Ben Griffin credits family, scrambling prowess in breakthrough individual title win at Charles Schwab Challenge

FORT WORTH, Texas — Years ago, when Ben Griffin was a boy in North Carolina, the 2008 recession caused his family to lose their home.

Griffin’s parents, who worked in real estate, moved to a smaller house. They made other adjustments and other concessions. But they made sure their son, a promising junior player, could still get to a public golf course in Chapel Hill and buy a bucket of balls. Hitting shots was good for him in the tough times. Griffin, though, felt even more engaged at the practice green, shaping pitch and chip shots, experimenting with loft and spin, rehearsing a short putt to win a big tournament someday.

That’s what happened for him Sunday at Colonial Country Club.

Griffin, 29, won the Charles Schwab Challenge by a shot at 12-under par, his second PGA TOUR victory and his first individual win. Griffin shot a gritty 1-over 71 on a windy afternoon that tested every part of his game except his mental fortitude and his belief that all of those hours at the practice green when times were hard would amount to something.

“The scrambling is what put me in this seat here today,” Griffin said in the post-round press conference, wearing his new tartan jacket, which goes to the winner of the Charles Schwab Challenge. “I'm very confident in my short game. I credit that going back to junior golf. My parents did so much for me growing up. I know they sacrificed a lot for me, and I credit a lot of my success down the stretch today to my short game. It kept me in it, and that's what I did as a kid. That's what helped my short game be so good down the stretch today.”

The victory represented validation to Griffin, who once left professional golf, disillusioned with his lack of results, to work in private industry. He returned in 2021 with new conviction and purpose.

He got close a few times. He tied for third at the 2022 Butterfield Bermuda Championship after holding the 54-hole lead. He tied for second in the 2023 Sanderson Farms Championship after leading again after three rounds. Just last month, he and Andrew Novak carried a third-round lead all the way to victory at the Zurich Classic of North Orleans, a partnership tournament.

Last week, he tied for eighth in the PGA Championship — his first made cut in a major. He’s had five top-10 finishes in 2025.

“It’s crazy how fast things can change in this game," Griffin said.

But it came with effort. He decided at the start of the year to work harder on everything. He embraced his second chance and bet on himself. He started exercising more. Now he works out almost every day, improving his flexibility and, he hopes, longevity. He soon became a fixture on leaderboards. He convinced himself, through effort and discipline, that he is meant to be an elite player on the TOUR — and a champion.

“To see it all come together is a dream,” said his fiancée, Dana Myeroff. “It’s just a dream.”

But dreams can get weird. This one did. Tied with Matti Schmid at 13-under at the start of the round, Griffin opened like fate was firmly and securely in his favor. He eagled the par-5 first. He birdied the par-4 second. He built a five-shot lead that, he later admitted, knew was not safe with players like Schmid, Rickie Fowler, and Scottie Scheffler close behind. Then the dream took a dark turn.

“The back nine was quite the grind,” Griffin said.

Griffin put no more circles on his scorecard the rest of the way. He made four bogeys, two down the stretch, and let Matti Schmid, his nearest competitor, get close enough to add significant anxiety to the tee shots on the 440-yard par-4 18th hole. Griffin led by two when they pegged their balls with everything at stake.

Schmid drilled his ball to the fairway. Griffin’s finished in the right rough. His approach from 133 yards found the grassy brow of the front-left bunker, compounding both his stance (in the bunker) and grip (on the steel), his ball at his waist. Griffin waggled, shifted, planted his feet and hit a stylish chip to 4 feet.

Schmid had tugged a gap wedge from 139 yards. His ball skipped through the green and down an embankment, the lie short-sided and desperately difficult. Novak, Griffin’s partner when they won the Zurich Class in April, was watching. He muttered that Griffin would be fine as long as Schmid didn’t hole his birdie pitch, which is exactly what he did.

The 4-footer to win looked to Griffin like another chance at validation. Novak could barely watch.

Griffin put a perfect stroke on the putt. It was pure from the first revolution.

“He’s been good on Sundays, man,” Novak said, noting the clutch shots Griffin hit on that Sunday in Louisiana.

“Wow,” Novak continued, shaking his head. “Crazy finish.”

The victory awarded 500 FedExCup points to Griffin, who rose to fifth in the rankings.

“Incredible week,” Griffin said. “I’m very blessed.”