Despite the 2022/23 PGA Tour season being just seven events old, we have already been treated to a number of fantastic stories. After his defence of the CJ Cup, Rory McIlroy moved back to World No.1, while the performances at the Presidents Cup and Shriners Children’s Open has cemented Tom Kim as a future star within the game of golf.
And now, at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship, there is yet another feel good story in the works as, with just 18 holes remaining, Ben Griffin sits tied at the top of the leaderboard with Seamus Power. You may ask what is so special about this? Well, just over 18 months ago, Griffin was working full-time as a mortgage loan officer after not earning status on the Korn Ferry Tour or the PGA Tour.
Stepping away from the game at the beginning of 2021, the American worked as a loan officer for a mortgage group in North Carolina during the spring and summer of that year. The now 26-year-old admitted his step away from the game “was a combination of burnout, a little bit from COVID and then also financially, I didn’t want to rely on my parents anymore for everything.”
He went on to explain that “during Covid, I didn’t have status on the Korn Ferry Tour or the PGA Tour and it’s very difficult unless you have sponsors or a support system that can kind of help you get back.”
Earning his 2022/23 PGA Tour card with a No. 15 finish on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List, Griffin credits “all of my success this last year and really the month or two to my sponsors, Lord Abbett. The CEO Doug Sieg, he was crucial in my comeback.”
He added “without him I wouldn’t be playing golf right now. All of these really cool people have stepped in my life. Mike Swann, Jesse Ahearn, guys out in Springfield, Missouri, those guys all supported me and paid for my Q-School last year to get through Korn Ferry.”
Griffin secured his PGA Tour card after five top 10s and three runner up finishes on the Korn Ferry Tour
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Shooting rounds of 65, 64 and 66, Griffin sits at 18-under-par alongside PGA Tour winner Seamus Power. In his press…
..
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Golf Monthly RSS Feed…