Avondale, LA – Andrew Novak is celebrating a month like a month that can change the careers of PGA Tour players.
Ben Griffin was pleased to team up with his old friends at a time when it was a big time for both of them.
Griffin drains clutch birdie putts from nearly 35 feet on hole 17, pairing a 1-under 71 on Sunday’s Alternate Shot Play, making his first PGA Tour winner in the Zurich Classic – with one stroke –
“Fortunately, Ben was there today,” Novak said. “He beat us all at once. It’s very exciting to put together our first victory.”
Novak and Griffin finished at 28 under 260 with the TPC Louisiana and Novak, designed by Pete Dye.
“I did a pretty good job without being overly annoyed by the close shaving,” Novak said. “I’ve tried to get as much positivity as possible. I certainly had a lot of confidence this week.”
Masters champion Rory McIlroy and defending champion Irishman Shane Raleigh were competing for 12 holes, but fell from 12th to six shots on three late bogeys.
The same Danish twins, Nikolai and Rasmus Huigard, narrowly missed their first PGA Tour victory and finished second after the age of 68.
The play was just over 90 minutes and the weather was delayed, with Novak taking place on hole 8 at Griffin.
The pair believed in friendship by helping them play well with each other during the tense final holes, remaining composed throughout the delay.
Novak, 30, grew up in South Carolina, and Griffin, 28, is from North Carolina. They played many of the same tournaments as teenagers, becoming closer early in their professional careers, and both trained together when they lived in Sea Island, South Carolina.
“We did almost everything in our career together,” Griffin said. “It’s just a perfect moment… we feel like we have a truck similar to where we are today.”
Novak and Griffin started three shots in the only team event on the PGA Tour, but were caught up in Jake Knapp and Frankie Capan III to regain Griffin’s Par-3 17 pivol putt.
This gave the final winner a two-shot lead after Kapan pulled the tee shot into the green left water at 17.
“I was trying to hit the right shot,” Capan said. “I made a little faster and turned a little left.
“It was a tough finish. It was a great week,” Kapan added.
Novak’s tee shot also went left and left than intended, placing his hand on his chest as the ball stopped near the edge of the water.
Birdie allows his team to win on par at 18, earning 400 FedEx Cup points each, with a winner check of $1.33 million.
McIlroy and Lowry were just three shots from the lead when they bogeyed 384 yards, par 4, 13th place.
Despite their slow fades, they had a big supportive gallery at 18. McIlroy confirmed some wave fans before Laurie made a crowd-pleasing birdie putt. A smiling McIlroy retrieved the ball from the hole and turned it into the water.
“It’s been a fun week,” McIlroy said. “It felt like we still had a good chance, and we weren’t making birdies (par 5 11th), and again bogeying 13 for the second time this week.”
After Nikolai made a 42-foot birdie putt in par 3 14th place, Hodgegard’s twins were inside the stroke of the lead. At 4pm, Rasmus narrowly missed a 27-foot birdie putt for the lead, and the ball stopped at the edge of the hole. But it was as close as they could get.
“From this week there’s been a lot of positive things,” Nikolai Hodzigard said. “You can really enjoy this week like this and then you can join and compete as a partner.”
Isaiah Salinda and Kevin Bello are PGA Tour rookies who led each of the first two days, finishing at 71 and finishing eighth at 24 under. They set the tournament’s Better Ball Record at 58 on Thursday.