[PHOTO: Jed Jacobsohn]
Lanto Griffin collected eight birdies on the final day of the Procore Championship, shot seven-under 65 and ended in third place, his best finish this year on the PGA Tour by miles.
RELATED: The clubs Scottie Scheffler used to win the 2025 Procore Championship
The 37-year-old PGA Tour winner was tired, he was happy and he was emotional. He knows that a result like this at Silverado Resort can help go a long way towards locking up his exempt tour status for 2026. He entered the week 142nd in the FedEx Fall standings but vaulted all the way to the crucial 100th position. Exempt status goes only to those inside the top 100 after the RSM Classic in November.
Griffin did an interview with Golf Channel and you could see the exhaustion on his face. He also gave thanks to his wife Maya for her support, as he hasn’t played his best golf the past few years while trying to fully recover from back surgery in July 2022.
Then Griffin said the quiet part out loud.
“I kind of wish Scottie wasn’t here this week,” he told Golf Channel’s Kira Dixon.
It wasn’t said in a mean way. It was more of an off-the-cuff, honest remark that followed with him admitting that he knows those in the gallery and tournament officials feel differently. Having the world No.1 play there this week is a big get for the event. Having him win for the sixth time this year takes it to another level.
https://twitter.com/PGATOUR/status/1967366450164699141
Still, it was refreshing to hear Griffin admit what was on his mind.
Scheffler was one of 10 US Ryder Cup team members at Silverado playing at the request of captain Keegan Bradley. Fellow Ryder Cup teammate Ben Griffin missed a short birdie putt on the last hole that would’ve sent him into a playoff with Scheffler. Lanto Griffin was in third place, one behind Ben Griffin.
“Sometimes when you work hard and work on the wrong stuff you get worse, and that’s kind of what happened,” Lanto said. “My work ethic hasn’t changed. I kind of went down the wrong path and it went backwards. I went back with my old coach, Todd Anderson at TPC Sawgrass. We got back together in May. I started working with Alex Bennett at TPC Sawgrass, both at the Performance Center. My body feels good.
“It’s crazy when you work on some wrong stuff, it actually feels so wrong to do it right. So it took me three, four weeks after [the] Wyndham [Championship in early August] to start feeling comfortable, and it started clicking the past week or two. It wasn’t great this week but the rest of my game was, but I know the foundation’s set now.”
