[PHOTO: Jonathan Bachman]
When asked about his team holding a three-shot lead heading into the final round, Andrew Novak said, “Three shots can be gone pretty quick. It’s nice to have it, but we’re going to have to still play well.”
After a front nine that saw him and partner Ben Griffin make three bogeys to offset three birdies in the alternate-shot format, the pair indeed found their margin erased, falling into a tie with Jake Knapp and Frankie Capan III.
The foursome remained tied, exchanging pars until the 16th hole before Capan pull-hooked his tee shot on the par-3 17th, leading to a bogey while the Griffin rolled in a birdie to take a two-shot lead and eventually the win.
For Novak and Griffin, the win was their first on the PGA Tour, gratifying for both but especially for Novak, who lost last week to Justin Thomas in a playoff.
The putter/ball combination Griffin used for the birdie is a bit unusual. Griffin play’s Maxfli’s Tour X ball. Although Maxfli was once a visible brand on tour, it has had no presence on the pay-for-play circuit in recent years. His putter is a Scotty Cameron by Titleist Concept 2 prototype blade.
For Novak, he uses a split set of Srixon irons with Z-Forged II blades for the 7-iron to pitching wedge and ZX7 Mk II irons for the 4 to 6-iron. He also employs a trio of Cleveland RTZ wedges.
And both players now hold the title of PGA Tour winner.
The clubs Ben Griffin and Andrew Novak used to win the 2025 Zurich Classic:
Ben Griffin
Ball: Maxfli Tour X
Driver: Ping G430 Max 10K (UST Mamiya Linq White PC TX), 9 degrees
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi35, 15 degrees
Irons (3): Mizuno JPX923 Tour; (4-PW): Mizuno Pro S3
Wedges: Mizuno Pro T-1 (52, 56 degrees); TaylorMade Milled Grind 4 (60 degrees)
Putter: Scotty Cameron by Titleist Concept 2
Andrew Novak
Ball: Srixon Z-Star Diamond
Driver: Ping G440 LST (Project X HZRDUS Smoke Green RDX 75 TX), 7.5 degrees
3-wood: Ping G440 Max, 15 degrees
5-wood: Ping G440 Max, 19 degrees
Irons (4-6): Srixon ZX7 Mk II; (7-PW): Srixon Z-Forged II
Wedges: Cleveland RTZ (50, 54, 60 degrees)
Putter: Odyssey Ai On #7 TS
