Ben Griffin hangs on at Colonial through tough final round, beats Matti Schmid by 1
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Ben Griffin has his first individual PGA Tour victory a month after winning a team event, hanging on to beat Matti Schmid at Colonial after breaking a tie with his co-leader for good on the first hole Sunday.
Griffin shot a 1-over 71 to finish at 12-under 268 in the Charles Schwab Challenge, one shot ahead of Schmid as both struggled through the final round on a warm day with wind gusts around 30 mph at Hogan’s Alley.
Schmid forced Griffin to make a 4-foot par putt on the 72nd hole after his chip from the deep rough behind the green went in for birdie. Griffin saved par from the rough, standing in the bunker while choking way down on the club on his chip. Schmid shot 72.
Griffin and Schmid, the 27-year-old German seeking his first tour win in his 79th start, had matching scores each of the first three days.
Schmid was the one who surged in front early in the third round, taking a three-shot lead. Griffin had a five-shot edge after just five holes in the final round, and finally let Schmid get within a stroke with a two-shot swing at 16 before getting the lead back to two with a hole to play.
Scottie Scheffler, the world No. 1 and hometown favorite who won the PGA Championship last week, couldn’t match his Saturday surge from 10 shots back. The three-time major winner began the day six shots back, but had two birdies and a bogey in a 69 to finish 8 under.
Scheffler fell short of becoming the first to win three consecutive starts since Dustin Johnson eight years ago, and just missed a fourth consecutive year of finishing in the top three at Colonial. He tied for fourth, one shot behind Bud Cauley, who shot 67.
Rickie Fowler never threatened the co-leaders, either, starting slowly and ending his fading hopes with a 7 on the par-5 11th. Fowler, who entered ranked 127th after being in the top 25 as recently as early 2024, shot 74.
The 29-year-old Griffin teamed with Andrew Novak, who finished 6 under at Colonial, for the victory at the Zurich Classic in New Orleans last month. They left openings for others, just as Griffin did Sunday.
Griffin and Schmid took a four-shot lead into the final round, and stayed 1-2 despite both finishing over par for the day. Schmid had six bogeys and a double bogey to go with six birdies, while Griffin had four bogeys after opening with an eagle and a birdie.
Tommy Fleetwood shot 31 on the front nine to get into contention, lost the momentum with a bogey at 11 and then had one of the tournament highlights with his final stroke.
Fleetwood’s birdie putt on 18 stopped on the lip of the cup, and he waited almost 30 seconds hoping the gusting wind would push the ball into the hole. Nature obliged.
Fleetwood shot 68 to tie Scheffler in his 41st top-10 finish on the PGA Tour, the most by a player without a victory since 1983.
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