Ben Griffin, the million-to-one shot, won almost a half-mill at the Wyndham.
The Chapel Hill golfer, who has gone from selling mortgages to making birdies on the pro tour, had the most thrilling weekend of his young career in the Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield in Greensboro.
The former East Chapel Hill and UNC star just about quit golf after he failed to make the cut at various qualifying tournaments; then he played his way back onto the Korn Ferry Tour last fall and advanced through the first, second and final stages to earn his first PGA tour card.
Sunday, he won $358,000 for finishing fourth at the Wyndham, hitting 14 of 18 greens and birdying his last two holes to beat out far better-known golfers such as young Will Zalatoris and veterans Stewart Cink and Billy Horschel, along with major championship winners Justin Rose of England and Zach Johnson, who will captain the U.S. Ryder Cup team next summer.
Coming down the stretch, Ben wasn’t in contention to win the tournament, as 20-year-old Joohyung Kim of South Korea shot a 61 to run away from the field and finish 20-under to take home the $1,314,000 championship purse.
But Griffin was a crowd favorite, especially with those locals who knew his dramatic story, as he climbed up the leaderboard with his spectacular 64 and five birdies on the back nine, including the last two holes to finish 14 under for the tournament and six strokes behind Kim.
On 17, Griffin used the sloped green to wind up six feet from the cup before rolling it in for a birdie. On 18, Ben’s second shot nearly bounced in the hole then backed up two feet, from where he tapped in for his eighth birdie of the fabulous day.
To call Griffin a long shot going in was the understatement of the weekend, as he opened with odds of a million-to-one, which wasn’t a bad bet considering it was a field lacking most of the big stars of what’s left of the PGA Tour.
But Griffin left for Chapel Hill with a big check, a bigger name and game to watch for the remainder for this year’s pro tour.
Featured image via Yahoo! Sports
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