FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Ben Griffin figured it wouldn't be easy even after immediately breaking his tie with co-leader Matti Schmid and leading by five shots just five holes into the final round at Colonial.
Schmid kept it interesting all the way to the end.
Griffin earned his first individual PGA Tour victory a month after winning a team event, shooting 1-over 71 to finish at 12-under 268 in the Charles Schwab Challenge, one shot ahead of Schmid as both struggled on a warm day with wind gusts around 30 mph at Hogan's Alley.
Schmid forced Griffin to make a 4-foot par putt on the 72nd hole after his chip from the deep rough behind the green went in for birdie. Griffin saved par from the rough, standing in a bunker while choking way down on the club with the ball well above his feet on his chip. Schmid shot 72.
“First of all, it was like whack-a-mole hitting that third shot,” Griffin said. “In my head, I was thinking Matti might probably make that. Fortunately, I had that 4-footer. I felt pretty good over it. Just left edge and trust it.”
Griffin and Schmid, the 27-year-old German seeking his first tour win in his 79th start, had matching scores each of the first three days.
Schmid was the one who surged in front early in the third round, taking a three-shot lead. Griffin had a five-shot edge after just five holes in the final round, and finally let Schmid get within a stroke with a two-shot swing at 16 before getting the lead back to two with a hole to play.
Scottie Scheffler, the world No. 1 and hometown favorite who won the PGA Championship last week, couldn't match his Saturday surge from 10 shots back. The three-time major winner began the day six shots back, but had just two birdies and a bogey in a 69 to finish 8 under.
Scheffler fell short of becoming the first to win three consecutive starts since Dustin Johnson eight years ago, and just missed a fourth consecutive year of finishing in the top three at Colonial. He tied for fourth, one shot behind Bud Cauley, who shot 67.
“Overall it was a really challenging day,” Scheffler said. “I think Friday probably hurt me in terms of winning this tournament, but overall three of the four days I played what I felt was pretty solid.”
Rickie Fowler never threatened the co-leaders, either, starting slowly and ending his fading hopes with a 7 on the par-5 11th. Fowler, who entered ranked 127th after being in the top 25 as recently as early 2024, shot 74.
The 29-year-old Griffin teamed with Andrew Novak, who finished 6 under at Colonial, for the victory at the Zurich Classic in New Orleans last month. They left openings for others then, just as Griffin did Sunday.
Griffin and Schmid took a four-shot lead into the final round, and stayed 1-2 despite both finishing over par for the day.
Schmid had six bogeys and a double bogey to go with six birdies, while Griffin had four bogeys after opening with an eagle and a birdie.
“No lead is ever safe on the PGA Tour,” Griffin said. “It can feel like a tournament's done. Maybe if it's Scottie Scheffler with a five-shot lead, it's done. I was trying to keep the pedal down. I kept hitting a lot of drivers, kept trying to give myself birdie putts. I just didn't give myself a lot of birdie putts.”
Griffin hit just four of 14 fairways and seven of 18 greens but made consecutive testy par putts on the back nine, the first on the par-4 14th leaving him with a three-shot lead when Schmid missed a shorter putt for par.
Schmid got within one by hitting his tee shot inside 3 feet at the par-3 16th before Griffin missed a par putt. The momentum swung again on the next hole when Griffin saved par from behind a tree in the fairway and Schmid curiously aimed away from the hole with his ball plugged in a bunker, ended up in the rough and made bogey.
“The only two places were right of the green or long left, and I think then I would have had to chip up and over,” Schmid said. “I think the up-and-down was a little more straightforward. At that point I just tried to make a five, and thankfully I did it.”
Then he made things interesting on the final hole.
“Honestly I just tried to hit it long left a little bit,” Schmid said. “Hit it pretty high so it would stop quite quickly and just came out a bit right and went in. A bit of luck, but deserved it.”
Tommy Fleetwood had the other highlight on 18, after shooting a 31 on the front nine to get into contention but losing momentum with a bogey at 11. His birdie putt on the final hole stopped on the lip of the cup, and he waited almost 30 seconds hoping the gusting wind would push the ball into the hole. Nature obliged.
Fleetwood shot 68 to tie Scheffler in his 41st top-10 finish on the PGA Tour, the most by a player without a victory since 1983.
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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
Schuyler Dixon, The Associated Press
