Lanto Griffin breaks down a 7-under 65—including 6-under through 8, a key 5-footer for bogey on 9, and a huge putt on 10—on a tricky course that demands total ball control. He explains the nerves (“hands felt different” after a while without contention), why the 2-iron into 18 might’ve been his best swing of the week, and how he nearly set up an eagle look. Griffin also details his comeback plan: back with Todd Anderson and Alex Bennett at the TPC Sawgrass Performance Center, more weights since May, and rebounding from a 2022 low-back surgery and a Dominican WD. Goals now? Top-100 ASAP (before RSM), with Top-125/Top-150 contingencies. He feels the foundation is set—and the putter was hot all four days.
Chapters:
0:00 6-under through 8; momentum swings
0:40 Bogey save on 9; confidence putt on 10
1:10 Tricky course & “hands felt different”
1:40 Curling putt on 16; best swing (2-iron) on 18
2:10 Coaching reset (Anderson/Bennett) & health update
2:40 Goals: Top-100, fall schedule, keep the card
#LantoGriffin #PGATour #ProcoreChampionship #GolfInterview #Top100 #TPCSawgrass
Lanto 7 under 65 uh 600 in the first eight holes. That was a pretty pretty special round. How would you describe that? I’ve been putting putting really well and um I knew if I gave myself looks, you know, I’d have a a chance to have a good round. And for whatever reason, I you know, I hit some really close iron shots. And it’s kind of one of those things. You’re 600 through eight and you’re kind of you’re trying to just not even think about it. um and and kind of reset and kind of hit a little snag there at the turn. Nine wasn’t great, but I made a really good five-footer for par or for bogey. Um so, and then the putt on 10 was huge. Kind of gave me some confidence, but this is a really tricky golf course and you got to control your ball and when you haven’t been in contention in a while, hands feel different. Um so, it’s kind of just reminding yourself be a lot slower and uh but the putter felt great all all four days. Say the hands felt different. I’m sure there was some nerves coming down the stretch that looked like a great second shot you hit on 18, but was that lie a little unfortunate or were you feeling? Yeah. No, I mean I honestly I thought that two iron was going to be on the green. It’s really hard to to hold the green on 18, but I kind of hit I don’t hit the ball high and that was a perfect high cut kind of against, you know, against the wind and I thought it was going to be 30 40 feet kind of near the back edge and um it kind of saddle sat down. It was a little sticky. It wasn’t that bad. I I caught it a little bit behind it. Um wasn’t wasn’t hard, wasn’t easy. Um but no, that was probably the best swing of the week was the two on 18 there, which I’ll remember. Um I was hoping I had a chance. I was just hoping I had eagle putt. I was thinking about a Q school. The first hole on Sunday, I had 40 or 50 footer for eagle and I made it. and and I was kind of trying to think back to some positives, but um you I’m super super happy with how I played and and um yeah, no regrets. I know you’ve had a tough couple of years, you know, dealing with injuries and battling that and then uh little stretch there from March through to May that was a little bit of a struggle, but how how satisfying is this result that moves you into the probably the top 100? Yeah, I mean sometimes when you work hard and you’re working on the wrong stuff, you get worse. And that’s kind of what happened. So, and you know, my work ethic hasn’t changed. I just I kind of got down the wrong path and and it went backwards. And I I went back with my old coach Todd Anderson at uh TPC at Srass and we we got back together in May and I started working with Alex Bennett at TBC Srass. Um both at the performance center and my body feels good. Um, and we we’re it’s it’s crazy when you get off to, you know, you work on some wrong stuff, it has to feel so wrong to do right. So, it took me three or four weeks after Windham to start feeling comfortable and it started clicking in the last week or two and and um it wasn’t great this week, but um the rest of my game was so, but I know the foundation’s set now. You had that withdrawal in the Dominican Republic. Was that an injury related thing? Yeah, my body um my body just completely like locked up on uh I think it was Tuesday or Wednesday and I tried playing Thursday and I just you know I was four or five miles an hour slow and and um I think we were playing the following week so I was looking at it as I really needed to get home and get treatment be able to play the following week. Okay. And is it like different things that you’re doing in the gym or what’s been the cause of Yeah. So after surgery, I had a low back surgery and and did a lot of passive stuff, stretching, sauna, cryo, stuff like that to try and, you know, reduce inflammation and stuff, but I I kind of stopped working out um weight weight wise. Yeah. So we’ve done a lot more weights um since May and it’s my body feels way less pain, complete night and day difference. So Alex Bennett at home, he’s he does he’s done a really good job. When was your surgery? It was uh July 25th of 2022, so about three years ago. Yeah, a little over three years ago. Um what were your Did you have any goals coming into the fall or expectations? Yeah, I mean the goal is to obviously finish top 100. Um you know, winning is going to do that. Yeah. Um but then there’s still a top 125 um will get you starts and then top 150 will get you um you know, cornfairy. I don’t even know. There’s just so many little things that the main goal is just to try and win and and getting inside that top 100 as soon as you can. Hopefully not wait till RSM. Yeah. Um but that that’s the that’s the goal top 100 right now. How much confidence will this give you, you know, in the rest of the fall? I’m assuming you’re going to play most of them. Yeah, it’s a great foundation cuz I the last couple weeks my swings felt really good and then it I know I didn’t really execute it this week. So, I I hit a lot of shots. Um, kind of resorting back to what I used to do. Um, but I’m guessing my putting numbers are pretty strong. I probably I’m going to guess 12 to 15 gained on the field. So, um, but I feel really comfortable when I’m working on my swing and that it’s right. So, getting a really good finish and being able to go home and get back to work on that is exciting. What was the best shot you hit today? Best shot? Probably the putt on 16 cuz I told Brian I was like, “You want me to make it?” I was like, it broke six, seven feet and um it just looked the whole way like it was going in. And um but the two on 18, even though I made par, um I just haven’t been driving it good all week. And um the one on 18 was best drive of the week and about as good of a 200 as I can hit. Thanks, Mont. Thank you. Yeah, you got it, guys. Congrats, man. Good play.
