Tour News
If you’re playing golf in New Orleans, you can expect the weather to be fairly choppy and humid. Play was halted on the final round of the Zurich Classic at TPC Louisiana for a few hours due to lightning in the area, but the pause didn’t slow down Andrew Novak and Ben Griffin.
The event is structured as a four-ball best ball tournament in two-man teams, resulting in duos making some very low scores together. The Americans started the final day with a 3 shot lead with both Rasmus and Nicolai Højgaard close behind them.
Making pars steadily throughout their back 9 to keep ahead of the competition, Novak placed his tee shot just short of the green on the par-3 17th hole, narrowly missing the water. Griffin then sunk a tremendous 35-foot putt to secure them a birdie on the 71st hole.
This excellent birdie helped the pair regain the outright lead over Jake Knapp and Frankie Capan III while their opponents made a bogey on that hole. Existing as a persistent threat all weekend, the Højgaard twins birdied the final hole together, but it wasn’t quite enough to force a playoff with the Americans.
Ben Griffin was quick to reminisce on how pivotal the lengthy putt on 17 was in contributing to the pair’s win “Fortunately we had a little upper hand there on 17, so I knew we had a good opportunity. Honestly that putt I was just trying to get it close there for Andrew. I took a line that I thought would make it and fortunately hit it on it, the reaction says it all.”
It was the first PGA Tour tournament win for them both and they were understandably thrilled with their performance this weekend. Further down the leaderboard, Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry ended in tied 12th place.
There was much talk about the defending champions this week, heightened by Rory’s win at The Masters just a few weeks ago. While they struggled on the golf course, the pair were certainly enjoying themselves and engaging with fans excitedly throughout.
Sinking lengthy putts is an incredible feeling, and if you want to feel in greater control of your time spent on the greens, we’re always available to get you booked in for some short game lessons in the pro shop.
