From debt to top-10: Ben Griffin’s remarkable rise after third win of 2025

World Wide Technology ambassador Ben Griffin meets the media after winning the World Wide Technology Championship — his third PGA TOUR victory of the season. He explains how starting in the second-to-last group changed his approach, why he set a 30-under target (and finished 29-under), and what it means to move into the top-10 in the world.

Griffin also dives into his putter switch (from blade to Spider mallet), shares love for Los Cabos and the WWT week vibes, reflects on his 2020 credit-card debt to comeback journey, and lays out offseason goals before a big wedding and a first trip to Augusta National. Plus: hilarious bits on past trophy mishaps and why this one is (hopefully) finally going on the shelf.

Chapters
00:00 Opening remarks & winning from the second-to-last group
01:05 “Keep the pedal down” — posting a number & chasing 30-under
02:20 Elite company: three wins in one season & top-10 in the world
03:25 The putter switch: stats, Spider test, why it stayed in the bag
04:35 Cabo/WWT ambassador vibes, fans & events week
05:40 From 2020 debt to today: the support team behind the rise
07:10 Key moments: birdie on 16, closing at 18
08:05 How hard it is to win on today’s PGA TOUR
09:10 Offseason plans: wedding, Augusta, RSM & getting even better
10:05 Trophy stories: buckles, a burned car(?!), and finally a keeper

Key quotes

“I set 30-under as the goal. Got to 29 — it was enough.”

“Not in the final group for once — I could just post a number.”

“Best blade putter at 19 SG: Putting… so I tried a mallet. It worked.”

“From credit-card debt to three wins — grateful and still hungry.”

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#BenGriffin #WWTChampionship #PGATOUR #LosCabos #SpiderPutter #GolfInterview #Top10 #BreakthroughSeason

SEO keywords / tags: Ben Griffin press conference, World Wide Technology Championship interview, WWT Los Cabos winner, PGA TOUR 2025 three wins, chasing from second-to-last group, 29 under, 30 under goal, Spider putter mallet switch, strokes gained putting, top 10 in the world golf, Ryder Cup season, trophy story, Cabo bachelor party, Augusta National first time, RSM Classic return

Good evening everyone. We are joined here with Worldwide Technology Ambassador and our 2025 champion Ben Griffin. Ben, congrats on capturing your third PGA Tour victory and all three coming this season. How’d it feel coming down the stretch? Yeah, I feel like I’m getting more and more comfortable kind of down the stretch. Uh had been in the mix a couple times since my um my last win and so um yeah, going in the round I felt felt great about my game. Felt uh confident going into the day. Um it’s kind of a new um situation for me being in the second to last group. I feel like I’ve been in a lot of final groups. Um all season long pretty much. Uh when I had a chance to win, I felt like I was in the final group. Um Charles Schwab final group, Zurich final group, um Memorial Final Group, Napa final group. And this is kind of the first time um where I was in the final group and had a really good chance to win. So I knew I could go out there and post a number and maybe apply some pressure. and um was really proud of the way I uh kept the puddle down and uh was able to make a lot of putts there in the middle stretch and uh capped it off with birdies on 16 and 18 to seal the deal. So uh it was all in all a great day and I’m very very excited to be uh be the champion here this week. And like you just mentioned, this is the first time you weren’t in the final group. What was it like to be chasing? How were you kind of watching those numbers on the leaderboard and knowing needed to post a number and be aggressive? Yeah, just to start out the round, I wasn’t really paying too much attention. Um there was a lot of a lot of getable holes. Uh felt like there were a lot of birdies to be made and so I just kind of kept my head down and just tried to play aggressive. Uh play smart. Um not attack the the pins that um you know that were a little closer to the edges or whatnot. Um go at a lot of the the pins that were a little more receptive. And so, um, yeah, and coming down the stretch, uh, I kind of got to a point where I was, uh, I think 27 under. And, um, with three holes to go, my goal was to, um, to birdie them all and get to 30. And I felt like that would seal the deal. I wasn’t looking at what other guys were doing, but I could tell kind of out as I was out there, I could tell there weren’t that many roars. Um, definitely not behind me, maybe a couple in front. So, I knew there wasn’t a whole lot going on. Um, or at least it didn’t feel like there was someone making a lot of birdies. So, I felt like I was kind of in control and all I had to do is just uh set that goal of 30 under and I felt like I I there would be no way I’d lose if I got to that number. So, um didn’t quite get there. Got to 29. Um you know, needed a birdie 17 or eagle 18, but um you know, sure enough, 29 was enough. And heard Kira say earlier about how joining a le list with three wins this season, only Rory and Scotty have done that, and you’re the first since Scotty to have your first three wins uh in the same season. what’s it like to show that you’re up there in the numbers and able to compete? Yeah, it’s just uh it’s been a breakthrough year and um I knew uh you know selfishly I kind of had a feeling after getting the first win I felt like I was going to win at least another soon after and sure enough I did. And um I feel like I’ve just had so many positive experiences coming down the stretch winning and then I’ve had enough experiences where it’s gone the other way to where I’ve learned a lot and um you know felt really um pretty confident and composed down the stretch here. Um but yeah, I mean anytime I can be on a list with those two names, it means I’m doing something pretty good. Um you know, it was helpful both of those guys aren’t weren’t in the field this week. But uh but no, it’s uh it’s been a lot of hard work. Been playing uh a lot of golf this year. Um, but just been keeping my head down and just trying to play my best and uh and see how far I can go in this game. And sticking with that same theme with this win, moving to top 10 in the world. So, what’s it like to see that work that it’s paying off moving into top? Yeah, I mean, it’s cool to look at the rankings and whatnot and and see how far I’ve come and and where I’m at compared to other guys, but um you know, honestly, I try to stay pretty present. It’s cool to, you know, at least this offseason to look at the rankings and see where I’m at and um, you know, be super proud of what I’ve accomplished and maybe celebrate it a little bit. Um, but, you know, I’m going to show up next season ready to go. And, um, I’m not going to get comfortable just winning three times out here. I’m going to try to continue to work really hard and and hopefully play even better. And and, you know, sure enough, I I did win this week, but I felt like there’s still a couple things that I I I do want to work on this off seasonason with my game. Um, not necessarily changing much, but just um, just getting a little bit better. And so it’ll be fun this offseason to continue to work hard um and hopefully can continue to do exactly what I’m doing and put my name up against those guys. Made a putter switch. Will this putter be will we see it next year with you? I’ll probably switch tomorrow to something else. Uh no. Um she’s here to stay for now. Um I don’t know. Uh it’s been a a fun week trying uh trying that butter out. Um honestly I I just wanted to I actually looked a lot at the the stats this year. Uh, you know, I was 19 in strokes game putting. Um, and I was believe I believe I was the best blade putter on tour at 19 and all these guys ahead of me. Um, you know, it switched from blades to mallets. And it was just something I thought about like, hm, maybe what would happen if I I used a mallet. And, um, I felt like this was a good week for me to test it out cuz so many guys here are, you know, competing to try to get in the top 60 in the AON next 10 and qualify for the for Pebble and Riviera. guys are trying to finish top 100, keep their cards top 125. For me, I didn’t have much to lose. And so, it was a really great week for me to be able to experiment a little bit. Um, you know, this is something I probably wouldn’t have done if it was the start of next season. And so, I I used it kind of as an opportunity to see what would happen if I I tried a mallet putter out. And, um, you know, I was messing around a lot in our uh little studio that we’ve been living in for like a year cuz we’ve been renovating our house. But, I have a little um putting mat that that I’ve been practicing on honestly a lot. And um I’d mess around with all the different putters that I have. I probably have 15 putters up there. And um and Dana can attest to that. Uh how the putter she trips on trying to get out of the get out of our little studio. But um yeah, I was messing around with the the the spider putter and um I it felt really good up there and I I brought it out to the course on Saturday and Sunday before flying here and played some good rounds um and said why not? Let’s see what happens. Sure enough uh it worked. Last one me we from me for a bit before we open it up. Uh third consecutive worldwide technology ambassador to win or here in beautiful Los Cabos. You’re at a lot of events and functions as an ambassador. Can you speak to the vibes here and the fans and the Mexican people here on what it’s like to have the support? Yeah, this is always one of my favorite weeks of the year. I I always call it the fifth major um with all the executives at Worldwide Tech. Um it’s uh it’s really fun to to come in here early. Um, I’ve participated in the the par three uh the proam with the first te every year. Um, so doing that on Tuesday um was a lot of fun. Uh, I played with girl Maria. She had a a great golf swing and um we made a lot of bird. She made a lot of putts for me which was which which was very fun. But um yeah, just starting with that and then as the week goes on uh there’s a celebrity proam challenge where they bring in celebrities and I’m able to interact with customers, clients, uh execs, employees and that’s uh it’s really cool for me to have a partner like Worldwide Technology where I can come out here and compete and give them a good show especially this week and then also be able to interact with a lot of their uh customers and everyone else um you know with all their events. They they have several events all week long and they do a business innovation summit. the last year I was able to listen to Jensen um from Nvidia speak and it was so cool and eye opening to see what’s what he’s kind of doing to transform the world from a technology standpoint. But um just an awesome partner. I feel like I get get along great with um with just about everyone and it’s uh it’s been amazing um to have them by my side and I’m I’m very grateful for their support. Perfect. With that, we’ll open up questions. You have a question, raise your hand and Patrick will bring a microphone over to you. Click it on the envelope. If not, we can use my microphone. Not a Hi Ren, congratulations. My name is Freddy is for the the economist newspaper in Mexico City. So my my question is how would you describe this year or this season for you? I mean you won your three PJ titles this season. You’re going to be top 10. Also you participated in the RDER Cup. So, how would you describe this decision for you? And also, I I read in an article on the PGA website that in 2020 you had some uh financial complications to to continue playing as a professional golf player. So, what what does it mean to be or to have this year after that moment? Thanks. Yeah. Um I think most people have kind of coined the term already for me, but uh breakthrough is just the easiest word to use. Uh it’s been um I’ve had a lot of buildup going in this year of of some good moments, but hadn’t quite broken through and won. And so this year was able to not only do that, but went multiple times and then make the Ryder Cup team and then win again here. It’s just been um it’s been a lot of hard work and a lot of belief. Um and yeah, the other question going back to 2020, um yeah, when COVID hit, um it was a tough time for professional golf if you weren’t on the Cornferry tour and the PGA Tour. Um, I was sitting in credit card debt for probably eight months. Um, when I quit golf, I was $17,000 in debt. Um, was relying heavily on my parents for rent and um, and other things. And it was just a point in my life where I knew I needed to get out of golf and go into business. I mean, you write for the economist, so go try to use my um, um, economics degree that I have from North Carolina and go into the real world. So, um, I did that for a short stent. Um, fortunately I I had some incredible people in my corner. Um, one of which is in here um, right now, Jesse Ahern, um, from Missouri. He helped um, kind of jump start my career back um, with some funding as well as Doug Sig with Lord Abbott, um, Mike Swan. There’s several other members at Highland Springs Country Club in Missouri that that helped me out um, just through random connections. And so um, kind of got out of the loan officer job that I had and got back to golf. And man, did that give me a lot of self-belief just having all the support in my corner to kind of come back to professional golf and and keep my head down and just try to work hard and see how far I could get. And you know, that basically started in 2022 when I was on the Cornferry tour um and work my way on the PGA tour pretty fast. And then uh yeah, just been a very steady climb since then. And um just trying to work really hard um try to do the right things both on and off the course and um and enjoy and savor the the good moments. And it’s been an incredible ride. And I’m just trying to um not get super comfortable and just continue to see how far I can really go in this game because it’s been an incredible story and I’m like I’m I’m just so grateful. I can’t believe all this is happening. But I’m not going to sit here and and just try to admire it. I’m going to, you know, keep using each each event as fuel for the next one and um and continue to work really hard. It’s what Tiger Woods always did. It’s what Scotty Shuffler’s doing. I’ve got to try to continue to do uh all the right things to to be great. Hi Ben, congratulations. My name is already from Millennium. I just want to know how do you feel as a person when you decide to come back to the golf um with your selfish? Yeah, I felt revived. Um you know, I was um I was in a tough spot. I mean, I’m in debt and I’m uh I was actually enjoying working um and getting away from golf, but I just had this amazing opportunity um from the support of several people um you know, especially Lord Abbott. I mean, he Doug Sig, the CEO of Lord Abbott, and and I agreed to a a deal that was going to allow me to play professional golf and and work really hard and have the same opportunities that that some guys on the Cornferry tour and PJ tour were having where when I had when I was in debt, I couldn’t afford to even go and like train with a trainer, you know, it’s you’re trying to make ends meet and um try to make money as fast as possible and I just wasn’t. And so I just felt revived um and felt like I just had an incredible amount of support and um so many people in my corner that wanted me to to accomplish good things in golf. And and that’s ultimately why I I decided to come back. It wasn’t like um it wasn’t like I really wanted to go back to golf, but I just felt like I had so much support and so many signs telling me I needed to go play golf. And sure enough, I mean, all these signs are right. I don’t know. The world’s a crazy place. You just have to have a lot of belief and um take advantage of those unique opportunities. I’m so grateful that I was able to have an opportunity to come back and play golf. Hen Nicolola for deportes. What do you think was the key moment this weekend and what does this tournament make different from the both previous wins you had this season? Yeah. Um I think the pivotal moment this week was making birdie on 16. And I I knew I knew I was pretty much in the lead or right around the lead and I knew I needed to finish strong and I set a goal of trying to go three under on the last three holes um when I was on 16. And um it was awesome to make that putt. When I saw that putt drop, I knew I had some momentum coming down the stretch. And um ultimately didn’t birdie 17, but hit hit a couple great shots on 18 to set up an eagle putt. And um sure enough, it was enough. But, um, yeah, I’d say I was kind of I had so much momentum in the middle of the round and then I kind of stalled maybe for a little bit on, uh, you know, 13, 14, 15. Um, it’s not like I was hitting necessarily bad shots. I just wasn’t quite getting the birdie looks and seeing the but the pus drop and um, I had made so many in the middle of the round and so when I saw another big one go on 16, uh, it was kind of a sigh relief and a little bit of momentum for the last few. Um, and then remember your second question. Um, Oh, compared to the other ones. Um, yeah, definitely different. Um, you know, this is my first one kind of coming from behind where I didn’t have the lead. Um, so it’s really nice being a chaser. Um, and it’s something it’s a mindset that I’ve tried to have when I when I’ve been in the lead. Um, and you have to stay aggressive on the PJ tour. Um, you have to make a lot of birdies. Obviously, I shoot nine under and I only win by two. So, if I shot seven under today, put an incredible final round, I still would have been in a playoff. Um it just goes to show that you got to stay aggressive till the very end. I needed a birdie 16. I needed a birdie 18 to get it done. Um and so yeah, going back to my previous two wins. Um we were kind of I was, you know, in I was a front runner with with Andrew going to the final round at at the Zurich Classic, the team event. And it was a little different mindset. Also, it’s alternate shot format. So you’re I’m hitting half the amount of shots that I did today. And um so that that one was a bit different, but I was super proud of not only the way I finished, but especially Andrew. I mean, we both pulled off incredible shots down the stretch to to seal the deal there. And then Charles Schwab, I felt like the course was really, really difficult. It almost felt like a US Open. If you’re just in the rough, it was so hard to hit the greens. And so making pars was really good. And um I made a lot of pars on the back nine to ultimately get it done there. And here it was more I needed to be aggressive. So um yeah, it was nice to to be in the second to last group. I think that freed me up a little bit. Um, and I was able to go out and attack early and and quickly build some momentum and and it was nice in the middle stretch to make a lot of putts and that’s what got it done. Abraham, how hard is to win against this generation on on the PU tour and how how hard is to win three times on a year? Yeah, it’s really hard. Um, you know, I can say that I mean in a cocky way. Yeah, I won three times and I can say it’s really hard, but like it it legitimately is. Um, you know, going in this week, if you had told me, you know, I needed to beat better than 2700 to win, I’d be like, dang, that’s that’s going to be really freaking hard to do. Even if there’s not much wind, you you still got to hit incredible shots. You never know if you’re going to shortside yourself in this golf course, it’s so easy. Like a whole like yesterday, a lot of the media was talking about 15 that back left pin location. Fortunately, from the previous two years, I knew that pin location was really um not one you go at. You just play for the middle of the green and try to get out of there with a four. And um that can make or break guys tournaments. And so um you know for me I I had to play really really smart golf and really aggressive golf at times on the par fives especially to get the job done here. And um yeah it takes a lot of hard work. It’s it’s a team. Um it really is a team win. You know I have my caddy Alex. I have my trainer Derek. I have my swing coach James. I mean there’s so many different ver different different people that kind of are helping me try to save one or two shots and and you have to have that um on the PJ tour. you have to have a good support system and um you can’t you can’t go at this alone. It’s really hard to I think Michael Brennan might have done that a little bit in his first win which is really really impressive and it would be cool to see um how far he uh he goes in in his career but um yeah really really hard. You have to be super focused. You have to do the right things off the golf course. Um and you have to you have to go to the first te on Thursday with a game uh with a game plan of trying to win. And um you can’t let up at any moment because uh every shot’s so crucial out here. Uh you talked uh pre-ournament about having your bachelor party in Los Cabos. Um can you talk a little bit about this area now that you’ve won here and is it feel a little bit more special? Uh Los Cabos. Yeah. Um, I’ve always loved coming to Cabo. Um, ever since the first time I came, which um was with Jesse here in the room, um, for New Year’s, like five or six years ago. Um, I think it was 5 years ago in 2020 was my first time coming here and it was, uh, amazing. I knew it was a place that, um, would be a fun place to have a bachelor party cuz a lot of incredible golf. Um, we had the opportunity to play a couple of the Discovery properties in Corinthia and it was uh, um, you know, memories I’ll I’ll always have and um, yeah, it’s it’s fun coming back here every year for this event as well, being with the Worldwide Technology uh, folks and all their customers and clients. It’s it’s amazing and and they do such a great job of hosting and and making us feel welcome as players as well going into, you know, the different events. It’s it’s a very comfortable week for all of us. Um but yeah, I got some some practice in Cabo about, you know, two or three months ago and um certainly paid off coming back here. Um yeah, all all around good vibes uh in Cabo and um in Los Cabos and it’s uh super excited to come back next year. Any stories you can share from that or any fellow teammates join the party? Yeah, uh some fellow teammates, uh Austin Hit, um who’s on the Cornferry tour was with us. um we probably drank a little bit too much alcohol, but um he went into the next week and finished second. Um and I had Napa two weeks later and I finished second. So ultimately whatever we did was was the right preparation. But um no, we uh I remember playing Elorado at sunset um the par three right there on the water and it was just a really cool moment with some of my best friends. Um be able be on the golf course, have some fun together. We’re playing like an atom um which you can’t really do that very often at most golf courses and um so moments like that and then um you know getting to experience some of the restaurants um in downtown Cabo was a lot of fun. We have a lot of weddings here on the tour. Yours is December 6. Um are you able to put your clubs kind of down for the next month or preparation for wedding or any promises you gave to Dana get a win could add to the wedding? What do you think? Should we go to Bermuda next week? No, I’m Yeah, we do love Bermuda. Um and the RSM, we love them as well. Um yeah, it’s, you know, I I do want to actually play NC Island um at the RSM. That tournament um means a lot to me. That was my first um PJ tour start and Todd Thompson gave me an exemption back in 2018. Um and then I I’ve played there the past few years and lived uh called Sea Island home for um you know, several years after um after I graduated college. So, um, you know, I want to go back and it’s been such a tough, um, tough fall. It’s been a tough fall in the fact that I’ve just had a lot more events than I expected. It’s been a good tough like I’ve been in the played in Napa, played well, was in the Ryder Cup, got to experience India on the DP World, which I’ve always wanted to play a DP World event. Um, and then coming here, it’s just uh, I’ve got to take some time off, especially with the wedding. We have a couple other friends that are getting married. Um, so we have a couple other weddings to go to. Uh I’m going to go play Augusta National for the first time. Um which I’m really excited about. And so I have a lot of things on on the agenda. Um and the the wedding’s the most important one. And um it’s important for me to kind of rest up and get ready for that and make sure um make sure I have enough money to afford all the flowers that Dana wants and um and make it the most uh memorable wedding of all time. One last one unless there are any other questions from the group. Perfect. Uh, final one is for those who don’t know, how heavy is this trophy? Can you tell anyone? And now that you’ve won three times, where are you trophies? It’s funny. Um, yeah, I’ve won the last my last two events, uh, I won, but I didn’t get a trophy. So, uh, this will be my first trophy, I think, that I actually get. Um, I didn’t know this, but you have to pay for your trophy sometimes when you win. Um, so I didn’t I I won a belt buckle at the Zurich Classic. I won a belt buckle at at the Charles Schwab. Um, I also won a car, the Charles Schwab, that that actually burned in a um in a tractor trailer as it was getting delivered. I’ve had I’ve had the worst luck, honestly, with like awards when I’ve won. So, I’m really hoping this makes it makes its way back to to home. It’s been uh all the wires have gone through on Wednesday after. So, that’s been amazing. I’m super grateful and blessed to to play golf and to obviously make as much as I do. And um that’s obviously happened, but this I think will be the first trophy that makes it back to my house. Um knock on wood. Perfect. With that, that’s all the questions we have. Bet you didn’t expect that. Thank you. We appreciate the time. And again, congratulations. Thank you. Gracias.