THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP

March 10, 2023

Ben Griffin

TPC Sawgrass

Quick Quotes

Q. Do you have the mentality perhaps to look at the totality here? You're two shots off the lead. That may be pretty good by the end of the day. If somebody would have given you that before you started, can you kind of put what happened on 18 behind you and think in those terms?

BEN GRIFFIN: Yeah, it's playing tough out there. To be bogey free through 17 holes I thought was pretty freaking good.

It was a grind, and unfortunately I didn't finish the way I wanted to, but the 18th hole is probably the toughest hole all day. I'm not going to be the first guy to make a double there. You're going to see a few. I'm just happy to be in the position that I'm in to make a charge this weekend and hopefully finish on top.

Q. On 17 did you get a gust or did you push it?

BEN GRIFFIN: Yeah, it was a tweener. 17 is playing hard off the left. Guys that are going to land it on that top shelf are going to have a tough time keeping it on the green. It's going to probably bounce over. Going into that hole I was really just trying to land it fractionally on the top shelf, if not just into the shelf and have an uphill putt. If you can hit it on that green four days in a row, you're probably going to do pretty good against the field. I did push it and it was a sigh of relief to see it kind of finish on land and my goal the rest of the week is just to hit the middle of the green there?

Q. What did you learn from Bermuda?

BEN GRIFFIN: It was just reassurance, more than anything, that I kind of belong. I'm feeling very comfortable, and it was just good to be in the mix.

I didn't finish it off, and short-sided myself a few too many times there on the back nine and left myself a lot of shots that were downwind with not a lot of green to work with.

For me this weekend, building off Bermuda, I just need to be a little bit better with my misses because I am going to miss shots, and just got to make sure I leave myself in a position where you can get up-and-down and save the par and make birdies when I can.

Q. Did you feel comfortable in that spot, though? It wasn't about being uncomfortable, right?

BEN GRIFFIN: Yeah, I was swinging it really good, so I think I was almost a little too confident with my swing on some of the lines I took. Looking back on it, there's still nights where I go to bed and I think about what if; what if I had done this on that tee shot. It still is in the back of my head and still bugs me. I know when I get my first win, hopefully this week, it'll kind of be in the past and I'll be looking forward to the future a little bit more.

Q. You've had a unique path here, obviously. What did you learn from that experience?

BEN GRIFFIN: Like the last few years?

Q. Yeah, taking a break.

BEN GRIFFIN: Yeah, taking a break has provided me with an awesome perspective. A lot of guys out here, not going to say any names, but a lot of people have big egos, and for me I'm just very grateful to be playing and very lucky to play in awesome conditions, have player dining. There's so much to be thankful for at all these PGA TOUR events, they do so much for us.

For me on the golf course it's just about making birdies and I'm not too worried about anything else, just trying to compete against the best in the world and seeing where my name stacks up.

Q. What do you think of the interest rates right now?

BEN GRIFFIN: They're too high if you're trying to buy a house. A $500,000 house two years ago was a little bit more affordable and it's probably double the cost now on a monthly payment.

Yeah, I picked a good time to get out of the mortgage industry, and I don't know how, but people think I'm a wizard for timing it so perfectly.

Q. You haven't had time to play your way into that top-50 tier, so to speak. What's been your take on the changes the last couple weeks and a guy like you who probably isn't part of that those conversations, what's it been like watching that happen?

BEN GRIFFIN: I think a lot of the changes are good. I think it's going to benefit the entirety of the TOUR. I think it might be more difficult for a rookie to come up and get to the top 50 or have a high enough World Ranking to get into the majors quicker, so it's going to be a little tougher journey, I think, based off the changes.

But as for a PGA TOUR player, I don't think any PGA TOUR player can really be too against this because everyone, regardless of what tournaments you're playing in, whether you're in the highest ones or the elevated ones or if you're in the regular season, you're either going to have a weaker field and play for more money and have a chance to win or you're going to be in elevated events and have guaranteed money and play against the best.

At the end of the day everyone should be happy. You're going to have more big-time players win less. Elevated events are going to be super competitive. You're going to have a guy like, maybe not Jon Rahm, but someone of his caliber, maybe not win a given season and have a really great year. And you're going to have a guy who's outside of those elevated events, who knows a name or anything, but someone like that who's going to win.

It's going to benefit everyone at the end of the day, I think. But it's definitely a little tougher if you're a kid coming out of college. You've got to put the pedal down and not be afraid to beat some pretty good players to get to the top.

But that's how it should be. That's meritocracy at its finest, so I think everything is going to end up being all right.

Q. The 4th hole, you birdied it today, but it's been all over the place the first couple of days. Why do you think it's been so hard for some?

BEN GRIFFIN: The 4th hole specifically? Yeah, it's a tough tee shot. You've got to hit that fairway to have a chance to get it close on that green. I missed the fairway the first round and hit a really good shot to get up by the green in two. Then today I hit an awesome tee shot with a driver, it's into the wind today, and left myself a 25-footer. I'd call it more of a bonus to make that putt.

Yeah, that's not the only hole out here that's going to be playing tough, though. You've got to hit the fairways if you're trying to have chances for the most part, and judging the wind today is going to be very difficult for the guys this afternoon.

Q. Right after the COVID break, you tried to Monday qualify for the KFT event at Valley, didn't make it. What do you remember about that and how long ago or not long ago does that seem?

BEN GRIFFIN: It seems like forever ago. Technically it's two jobs ago for me. But no, it's tough. I was in a position where I was trying to Monday qualify really for two or three years, and I had my success at times, but it's financially very difficult to keep doing, and it's very hard mentally to kind of keep at it and grind and try to make it when there's no guarantees for money or anything like that once you get through a Monday.

I'm just blessed to have a full schedule. Playing the Korn Ferry last year was awesome, having a full year and not having to grind for Monday qualifiers or anything like that. This year I actually did do a Monday qualifier, I did the Waste Management Monday because I wasn't in the field, which was a bummer, but that's the way the system was.

It's just awesome to be playing, have a schedule and playing against the best players.

Q. Do you remember anything about that particular Monday qualifier at Palencia? You missed by a few.

BEN GRIFFIN: Did I? I don't really remember much, but if I didn't make it, obviously I was going home to practice and try to get ready for the next. Yeah, that part of my life was difficult. You have negative -- your credit card -- you have a lot of credit card debt and you're trying to figure out how to make ends meet. Fortunately my parents were so supportive, but yeah, I'm just blessed to have money in my bank account and be playing against the best in the world.

Q. How has veganism played a role --

BEN GRIFFIN: Yeah, I've been plant based for almost a year now, trying to eat healthier. I have a lot of energy. I get done with the 18th hole and I feel like I can go back out and try to make more birdies right away. A lot of guys get tired. I credit some of that, whether it's less alcohol or veganism, to my overall health, just feeling better and feeling energized.

I think it helps with a lot of benefits for me. It might not be for everyone, but I've really enjoyed it, and I've been playing good golf doing it, so I don't see any reason why I would ever stop.

Q. When you stepped away from golf, did you know you were going to come back, or were you just thinking --

BEN GRIFFIN: No, I thought I was done. If it weren't for Doug Sieg and Lord Abbett, the logo here, he offered to pay all of my expenses for two years to play professional golf, and as a golfer, when you're starting up, that is a humongous sigh of relief and huge for your confidence and everything because you don't have to think about anything but winning.

Before I'm thinking about, All right, how am I going to pay my rent, how am I going to pay my food. I'm not going to get guac at Chipotle; that's what Viktor Hovland used to say. It's stuff like that that's real.

He was so supportive of me. I was so blessed to have even met him, him and his daughter. He moved to Sea Island, got a house down there because he wanted his daughter to practice more golf, and I randomly played nine holes with him, he started working out with my trainer Randy Myers. Randy told him I quit golf, and he was like, He doesn't need to be quitting golf because I played with him and saw how good he was.

He saw something in me that some other people may have saw, but he was able to put the check forward to me to allow me to play professional golf.

Him and a combination of Jesse Ahern who's standing over there, he paid for my Q-school last year. I'm just blessed.