Four years after giving up golf, Ben Griffin is now on a roll. Griffin shot a 5 under 67 at Muirfield Village Golf Club on May 29 to take a two-shot lead over Collin Morikawa at the Memorial Tournament.
Here are three things to know about Griffin:
Why Ben Griffin quit golf in 2021
Dissatisfied with how his golf career was going, Griffin quit the sport in 2021 and took a job as licensed mortgage broker in his hometown of Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
“I was so burnt out on golf,” Griffin said in a story on pgatour.com. “I didn’t have the love for the game.”
He got back into golf when a friend offered to sponsor Griffin and Griffin shot a 65 in a 2022 Monday qualifier on the Korn Ferry Tour.
That began the path that led to him rejoining the PGA Tour.
Can Ben Griffin make it two in a row?
Griffin is looking for back-to-back wins
Griffin won the Charles Schwab Challenge on May 22-25 with a one-shot victory secured with an up-and-down on the final hole. Earlier this year, he teamed with Andrew Novak to win the Zurich Class of New Orleans.
The victories have vaulted Griffin to No. 5 in the FedExCup standings.
Two balls in water didn’t deter Ben Griffin
It’s not often a golfer can hit two shots into the water and still card a 65. But that’s what Griffin did in the Memorial. He hit his tee shots on No. 11 and 12 into the water and bogeyed those holes.
But the rest of his round was virtually flawless. He started the round with a birdie. He also birdied No. 4 and eagled the par-5 No. 7 hole. He continued his momentum with a birdie on the eighth hole to get to 5 under.
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Griffin rebounded from the bogeys with birdies on Nos. 14, 16 and 17.
“This is one of the toughest golf courses we play on tour, and you’ve got to be on your game to make birdies and give yourself a lot of looks. I felt like I did that.
“A couple tough holes there on 11 and 12, but, honestly, mentally I felt great, even after hitting it in the water on those holes.”
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: 3 things to know about Memorial Tournament first-round leader Ben Griffin
Reporting by Bill Rabinowitz, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
