Ben Griffin and Andrew Novak made their first birdie of the back nine at a perfect moment.
Despite the Foursomes format’s volatility peaking on Sunday and the final groups having to deal with a rain delay for the second day in a row, the pair had remained stable enough after making the turn at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
However, Griffin stepped up and rolled in the birdie, a two-shot match against Jake Knapp and Frankie Capan III, who bogeyed the same hole, after Novak blasted his tee shot at the penultimate hole to 35 feet.
With a 28-under 260, that left Griffin and Novak, who were defeated by Justin Thomas in a playoff at the RBC Heritage last week, needing only a par on the last hole to win. They ended up one shot ahead of the Højgaard twins, Rasmus and Nicolai.
It was both Novak’s and Griffin’s first PGA TOUR victory. It was long overdue, but well worth the wait.
“I believe that it seemed like it was only a matter of time out here for both Andrew and me. Both of us put ourselves in a lot of situations, particularly this season but also last season. It took a lot of effort on both of our parts, and for me, it meant the world to finally finish or get it paid for. Here with Andrew, I couldn’t imagine a better man to do the job with.” Griffin said.
Since Patrick Cantlay in 2022, Novak became the first player on the Tour to lose in a playoff match and then win the following week. Ironically, Cantlay did the exact same thing ; losing at the RBC Heritage before winning at TPC Louisiana.
“Looking back, I played well in the closing minutes of last week. That was a good thing. I carried some positives into this week since there have been occasions in the past few weeks when I’ve had opportunities and haven’t performed properly. We placed ourselves back in position, but you never really know when you’ll receive your first one.” Novak said.
In the Zurich Classic, Novak and Griffin were the second pair to win on the PGA TOUR since the team format was adopted. It was in 2023 that Davis Riley and Nick Hardy won for the first time.
With the victory marking his 4th top-3 result this season on the TOUR, Novak has been moving in this direction. Meanwhile, this is Griffin’s 4th top-10 finish of 2025. In consecutive weeks, he placed T4 in the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches and the Mexico Open at VidantaWorld.
It has long been known that Griffin has returned to the TOUR. Before resuming his golf career in 2021, he left professional golf to serve as a loan officer for a mortgage business in North Carolina.
It was very meaningful for the two of them to complete this together because golf is such an individual sport. Since they had discussed pairing up over the previous few years, Griffin stated the relationship “was easy.” Both natives of North Carolina, Novak and Griffin reconnected in recent years while residing in Sea Island, Georgia, and worked with the same fitness coach. They had known each other since junior golf.
“It’s just a full-circle moment, in my opinion. Earlier, Andrew added, we were sitting up here together, celebrating our first victory. We seem to have followed similar paths to where we are now.” Griffin said.
It’s just a full-circle moment, in my opinion. Earlier, Andrew added, we were sitting up here together, celebrating our first victory. We seem to have followed similar paths to where we are now.
The two had an odd day on the golf course on Sunday, as the weather delay affected them as they turned the corner. The pair handled it with ease, making the turn and then reeling off their run of pars as others dropped out of play. On their back nine, Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry, the reigning champions, hit 3 bogeys in a 5-hole run. They were tied for 12th place.
Despite McIlroy’s strong hold on the top slot in the FedExCup rankings, Novak’s first-ever TOUR title tilt has put him to No. 6.
Like many first-time winners on the TOUR, the pair’s victory was a result of more than just one shot or round, but they reserved the day’s greatest one-two punch for the second-to-last hole. It was the labor done in the preceding years, even collectively. It was the choices they made, the time and effort they invested in themselves, and the things they witnessed from one another.
“It looks unreal, like a screenplay for a movie. However, the way everything came together is just ideal.” Novak said.
