Breakfast Ball #72: Why not make it a double?

Happy Memorial Day to all those celebrating in the US. A shorter edition today, more good stuff to come in the next few weeks.

In This Week’s Newsletter:

Ben Griffin wins Charles Schwab Challenge ahead of Germany’s Matti Schmid

Ben Griffin won his second PGA Tour title of the season with a one stroke victory at the Charles Schwab Challenge. Griffin claimed the Zurich Classic alongside Andrew Novak a few weeks ago, and jumped into fifth place in the FedEx Cup rankings with this triumph.

Germany’s Matti Schmid was tied for the lead with Griffin going into the final day but struggled in the early stages, playing the first seven holes in three over. Schmid is playing his third year on the PGA Tour, having graduated from the University of Louisville in 2021. Griffin extended his lead to five and looked to have the tournament in control, before bogeys on the 6th and 7th holes brought the field into play.

Tommy Fleetwood briefly surged within three of the lead, before falling off and finishing in a tie for fourth. He now has 41 top ten results on the PGA Tour without a win - by far the most since records began in 1983.

Schmid birdied the 16th to pull within one with just two holes to play, setting up a dramatic finish. On the par-4 17th, he found the fairway while Griffin looked in trouble in the right rough. However, the American pulled off a brilliant recovery, threading a shot around a tree that finished just off the back of the green. Schmid, meanwhile, misjudged his approach and saw his ball plug in the greenside bunker. With a tough lie and a tight pin, he had no choice but to pitch out into the rough, ultimately settling for bogey. Griffin got up and down for par, restoring his lead to two with one hole remaining.

On the 18th, the scene played out in familiar fashion. Schmid striped it down the middle, while Griffin once again found the right rough. While the German was short on the 17th, this time he was long, and hit a wedge to the rough behind the green while Griffin put himself in a position to once again make an easy up and down. While Schmid did force Griffin to make his par after a remarkable chip-in birdie, a four foot putt sealed the win.

Schmid moved up 46 spots in the FedEx Cup rankings with the solo second finish, his best on tour to date. He also qualified for his first ever signature event on tour at the Memorial next week in Ohio.

Ben Griffin was struggling on mini tours just four years ago, and had to briefly take up a job as a mortgage officer to pay the bills. Now, just four weeks after his first win, he is a two-time winner on the PGA Tour. The $1.7M payday doesn’t hurt either.

News and Results from the Golfing World 🌍️ 

• 🇩🇰 Rasmus-Neergaard Petersen won the Dallas qualifier for the US Open with rounds of 66 and 65

  • RNP beat a field that included Sergio Garcia, who will miss out on the tournament after making 25 straight appearances

• 🇳🇴 A final round 62 and a birdie on the second playoff hole was enough to give Kristoffer Reitan his first win on the DP World Tour

  • Reitan entered the day NINE shots off the lead, but a course record 62 brought him back into the mix

  • The Norwegian almost gave the game up after a rough stretch, and was clearly emotional after the win: “I keep thinking back to a few years ago when I was considering stopping playing because I didn’t find it enjoyable any more, didn’t see progress, and to be able to turn it around the way I have been doing the last couple of years has been amazing — to seal it with victory here is ridiculous.”

• 🇸🇪 Pontus Nyholm got his first win on the Korn Ferry Tour after a dramatic playoff victory at the Visit Knoxville Open

  • An eagle on the first playoff hole was met with great celebrations between Nyholm and his caddie

  • He has been grinding on the KFT for three years, but this win should give him a great chance to secure a PGA Tour card for 2026

• 🌏️ Rory McIlroy announced that he will be taking part in two global events - the India Championship in October and the Australian Open in December

  • The Australian Open is particularly exciting as it will take place in two world class courses in the next two years: Royal Melbourne and Kingston Heath

Coming up this week on Tour

• 👍️ The Memorial Tournament hosted by Jack Nicklaus is one of the best events on the PGA Tour calendar

• 🏔️ The DP World Tour goes to Salzburg for the Austrian Alpine Open

If you have any feedback for the newsletter or would like to get in touch, I would love to hear from you! Email [email protected] or message us on Twitter/X at @BlueHorizonGolf. Thank you for reading!