Tag: Lanto Griffin

Reduced fields? Relegation? In-season promotion? Korn Ferry Tour ‘majors’? Everything on the table in PGA Tour overhaul

All this and more are being discussed and could be implemented as soon as the 2026 season.

The PGA Tour announced a few minor tweaks last week for next season’s signature events but that is the low-hanging fruit.

Change is coming.

Reduced fields? Relegation? Korn Ferry Tour majors? Fewer exempt players? All this and more are being discussed by the 16-member Tour’s Player Advisory Council and could be implemented as soon as the 2026 season. The PGA Tour declined to comment for this story other than to say, “the PAC and player directors are actively involved in all facets regarding the future of the PGA Tour,” and some PAC members declined too, but not all of them.

“For the first time in a while I was excited after our last PAC meeting (in Fort Worth during the Charles Schwab Challenge),” said veteran pro Kevin Streelman. “We started talking and spitballing ideas about what things could look like. There were some ideas that seemed very good and would bring some consistency and true competitiveness to the top players in the world and still give a soft landing and a hopeful resurgence and opportunity if you fall off.

“There’s this super tour up here that everyone wants to be on, the big tournaments. But then you still want to be able to play and support your family and some hope of getting back. There were some cool ideas of relegation and promotion going both ways.”

Lanto Griffin said there’s support among the PAC for reducing tournament sizes to 120 players across the board regardless of regular or signature event. To do so, they would reduce the number of players that keep exempt status from 125 – the number 100 has been bandied around as a better figure although Rory McIlroy has suggested going even lower – and staggering down to the low figure over the course of several years.

“I think it’d be gradual, so that’s 125 to 120, 120 to 115 to slowly push lower and have less Q-School and Korn Ferry graduates,” Griffin said.

He said that they need to shape the schedule so the best players continue to play against each other as much as possible but also allow all exempt players to have a fair shake. He noted that Q-School and Korn Ferry Tour graduates are at a distinct disadvantage under the current system.

“They’re playing on the B-tour this year,” he said. “In an ideal world, the PGA Tour should be 20-22 tournaments from January to August. I know that’s not every week. Then have some tournaments go to the Korn Ferry Tour just throwing random names – (Cognizant), a Valero, a Dominican, those are Korn Ferry majors, you win one of those and you get promoted (in-season). It’s just an idea of having it where two signature events in a row, week off, three on, whatever it needs to be to where the top guys don’t have to play every week; they are still playing together but it’s 120 (man fields). If you get your card through Korn Ferry, it’s top 20 or top 25, you’re in those. We all think that’s the ideal situation, whether or not it’ll get there, who knows, it’s nowhere close.”

Griffin added: “Sam Burns came up to me (at the RBC Canadian Open) and said he’s talked to a lot of people about what I said at the PAC meeting and he was like, ‘Everybody that I’ve talked to agrees.’ They’re on board with it.”

Peter Malnati, a player director on the Tour policy board, confirmed that such conversations have reached the board level but said they are in the early stages of discussions. Reducing field sizes from 156 brings the question of how many members can the Tour realistically have and still provide enough starts?

“Those are the questions we’re just starting to tackle. If we’re going to minimize the size of the membership gradually over the next few years, we’ve got to create a platform where guys are motivated to go play and earn their way back to the Tour. What we have now is a survival tour,” Malnati said. “That excites me that that is something we’re thinking about as a leadership group.”

Streelman said much of the conversation spilled over after the last PAC meeting concluded and that Jason Gore, the PGA Tour’s chief player officer, has been intimately involved in shaping the changes.

“I’d say we’re diligently working to try to appease the top players, our marketing partners, our fans and the integrity of the Tour and their competitions to deliver the greatest product and highlight the best players week after week,” Streelman said. “This was the first time I was pretty stoked about the direction we may be headed. I hope we get it right and I think we will get it right. We’re working hard on it.”

Malnati said that the Tour has drawn inspiration from Theo Epstein of SSG, who gave a presentation in April that showed how Major League Baseball created a spreadsheet of categories with headers such as “this is possible and it can help,” “this is very unlikely and it can help,” “this is very farfetched and it can help.” There were nine categories in all.

“In 2014, one of the ideas that was under a header of ‘we’ll never do it because it violates our tradition’ was a pitch clock. They thought it was too far out there and would never happen. Here we are and there’s a pitch clock and it’s been very well received,” Malnati said.

The pitch clock was implemented last season and has been a big success in reducing game time. So it’s possible that even the most far-fetched ideas thrown out by Griffin and company may have merit.

“That’s where the Tour is now: how can we hang on to the traditions that are really important while making the product the best it can be?” Malnati said. “Part of the mission statement was to provide playing opportunities for the membership. How do we hold on to that tradition but also make sure those playing opportunities are high-quality playing opportunities?”

Last week the Tour approved two adjustments for signature events starting next year: an exemption for Tiger Woods and a minimum field of 72 players with an alternate list to maintain that number in the event of a withdrawal. Expect next year’s schedule to be pretty similar, Streelman said, noting it has to follow the Tour’s governance policies. Field size reductions and fewer exempt players would be implemented no sooner than 2026.

“Things will start to be discussed in the summer, voted on in the fall,” Streelman said.

For now, there are intriguing ideas being explored at the PAC level, the best of which will rise to the board level.

“It’s nowhere close to being official by any means,” Griffin said. “So a lot of wait and see.”

‘We have a commissioner who is a chicken s—‘: How the rank-and-file feel about signature events

“It’s the stupidest thing we’ve ever done,” said Streelman of 70-man fields with no cut or a limited one.

Not everyone is fond of the signature event structure that was implemented this season on the PGA Tour. Just ask veteran pro Nate Lashley, who pointed the blame directly at Commissioner Jay Monahan.

“Our No. 1 event is the Players and it’s a 144-man field. If that’s the best field all year, then why are these signature events that are supposed to be so good 70 (man fields)? It makes no sense,” Lashley said at the RBC Canadian Open last Saturday after making the cut. “Look at how good the Players was this year. When you have more competition, things stay tighter, more compact. When you’ve got fields with no cuts it spreads things out.

“But we have a commissioner who is a chicken shit and won’t stand up to a handful of guys, that’s what happens. You can’t tell me finishing top 10 in a limited field is similar to a 144- or 156-man field. It’s not even close. There’s no comparison. This is way harder.”

The series of eight Sig events was instituted to encourage the best players in the world to gather more often and play against each other for purses of at least $20 million against mostly limited fields, for jacked-up points and, more often than not, no-cut affairs. This week’s Memorial Tournament marks the seventh Sig event – this one does have a cut – with the Travelers Championship the finale of the Sig events in two weeks.

Count Mark Hubbard among the pros frustrated with the way the signature events are set up.

“It’s obviously set up to let in as few people as possible,” he argued. “They made the AON 10 and Swing 5 categories seem so dreamy but they didn’t tell us that the winner’s category was behind it and the world top 30 category was behind it. I think eight of the 10 (into the Memorial) would otherwise be exempt.” Lashley said he thought he should’ve been in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, the first signature event that the lists were used for, off of his good play but was surprised to find that Matthieu Pavon, the winner of the Farmers Insurance Open, was counted in the Aon 5 and bounced him out of the field.

Hubbard said his biggest bone of contention is with the sponsor exemptions.

“Not even saying that I deserve one, but there are so many guys. I love Brandt Snedeker (who was given an invite this week at Jack’s Place along with Matt Kuchar) and he’s had an amazing career but he hasn’t played well in a long time. I don’t think he brings a lot to the tournament. He’s a great dude but Joel (Dahmen) is like the fourth-most famous guy in golf and he’s playing well again. Min Woo Lee, at Waste Management he had 2,000 people walking around dressed like him. The whole point of these changes was to make a better product and to make the sponsors happier. I’m sorry but Kuch and Sneds are not making (Memorial) a better product. Playing with 68 guys is not a better product,” Hubbard said. “I’m not saying I deserve a sponsor invite but if we’re already going to take those categories that were supposed to be the play-your-way-in category and put them at a disadvantage, you have to give sponsor invites to guys who are playing well and deserve it and are going to make the field better.”

He also expressed concern that the limited-field events make it difficult for new stars and unique characters to emerge.

“I know we are trying to keep the top guys here and we had to do something but to shrink the game the way they have, it’s tough because there are 70 guys on the Korn Ferry Tour that could come out and win tomorrow and I think we have just lost sight of that,” he said. “There are just so many people playing really good golf right now and the world has no idea who they are because the Tour has chosen to make it that way. I’m not talking about fringe players, I’m talking about guys that are super good.”

Hubbard understands that the Tour was forced to respond to the challenge of the upstart LIV Golf, but pointed out that there are some unforeseen consequences that need to be resolved.

“Everything we have done has been very reactionary. We didn’t have foresight and take the meetings 5-6 years ago (with the Saudis). So we had to be reactionary and when you are reactionary there are kinks that don’t get worked out. I think they will make the changes, some changes for next year, but who knows. The way it is now, they will reassess. Maybe they do what they did with Pebble Beach and say every field is 80. I’m overall fine with the smaller fields, I’m overall fine with the higher points – I think they might be too high but I know we had to do something, I know they had their metrics, which whatever. The not filling the field part really irks me. It goes against everything I believe this game is about.”

2024 Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches
Kevin Streelman hits his tee shot on the ninth hole during the first round of the 2024 Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches. (Photo: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports)

Kevin Streelman, a member of the Player Advisory Council, didn’t disagree with Hubbard and Lashley’s assessment of the field size for the signature events needing to be revisited.

“It’s the stupidest thing we’ve ever done,” said Streelman of 70-man fields with no cut or a limited one at three of the events. He’s of the belief that 120-man fields are the right size for these elevated events.

“I’d say we’re diligently working to try to appease the top players, our marketing partners, our fans and the integrity of the Tour and their competitions to deliver the greatest product and highlight the best players week after week. I don’t love the way it looks right now but that doesn’t mean much anyway since I’m not an elected board member. If our fans love 70-player signature events 8-10 times a year, then have at it,” he said.

Lanto Griffin, another PAC member, said productive discussions have been held to address inadequacies in field size.

“It makes no sense to have 156 this week and 68 next week. At minimum they should have 72, fill in the field based on current year FedEx Cup points. You’re having onesomes go off on a Thursday. It’s just not right. Everyone is on board on that and they’ll have a board meeting in June to discuss some of it.”

Lanto Griffin plays his shot from the 10th tee during the second round of the U.S. Open golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Griffin has been adamant from the start that the points, which are inflated for the signature events – worth 700 for a win compared to 500 for a regular event — are out of whack.

“If the Green Bay Packers were playing the Dallas Cowboys, you wouldn’t want that to be worth three wins and then Jacksonville Jaguars play the Titans and that’s worth one or half a win,” Griffin said. “Giving out all these points at the big events is not incentivizing the top players to play more.”

He also said the field size needs to be expanded to give Korn Ferry Tour and Q-School grads access to the bigger events. “If you’re a KFT grad this year, you’re not a PGA Tour player. You’re on the B-Tour,” he said.

Lashley, for one, doesn’t hold out much hope for the PAC to come to the rescue, and expressed concern that too much emphasis has been placed on catering to the stars.

“The PAC doesn’t do anything. Now we have a handful of player advisers but two or three of them that are on that are top players using their leverage against the Tour. It’s terrible, they don’t represent the rest of the Tour; they represent themselves,” he said. “We were on a call with Jordan (Spieth) and he wouldn’t even give us an honest answer. It was like Jordan, you know the points are wrong. He was like, well, that’s what the analytics show. He’s been trained or someone told him to say that.”

While it’s never easy to satisfy an entire membership, there’s still time to fix some of the kinks in field size and how to qualify for the signature events before the 2025 season debuts in Maui.

Best of 2023: Our top 10 PGA Tour stories (including rants from James Hahn, Lanto Griffin)

It’s been another fascinating year following the PGA Tour.

It’s been another fascinating year following the PGA Tour, one complete with surprise moves, defections, internal strife, and of course, memorable victories.

And as part of taking our year-end inventory, we’ve been looking through the numbers and tallying up which stories drew your attention — and sharing the findings with you.

For the final days of 2023, we’re offering up a snapshot of the top 10 stories from each of Golfweek’s most popular sections, including travel, the PGA and LPGA tours, instruction and amateur golf.

Here’s a look at the top 10 PGA Tour stories, as clicked on by you (we should note, this list doesn’t include photo galleries or money lists):

Lynch: The PGA Tour’s winter of discontent is upon us, and a thaw isn’t coming soon

The most enduring and ruinous narrative peddled by the Tour was that every event mattered equally.

Reasons for thankfulness are scarce on the PGA Tour in the waning weeks of 2023, seasonal sentiment and Tiger’s impending return notwithstanding. Even feel-good winners like Erik Van Rooyen and Camilo Villegas furnished us with only a brief respite from the discord and distrust shadowing professional golf as it teeters toward a new dispensation, the structure and funding of which remains undetermined.

As the most tumultuous year in the Tour’s history draws to a close (if not a resolution), the portico principles that supported decades of the organization’s marketing are quickly crumbling. Like the ideals of comity and charity, for so long neatly packaged in a mantra — ‘These Guys Are Good’ — that was repeated with a fervor worthy of the Beijing politburo. Comity has been undermined by griping —  about fellow players, about executives at HQ, about the media — while the unrelenting chatter about money encourages a perception that too many Tour members think charity ends where it should begin: at home.

The most enduring and ruinous narrative peddled by the Tour was that every event mattered equally, as did every man in a member-led organization. It was a sustainable storyline only as long as everyone on the boat was aligned to row in the same direction. To the extent that they ever were, they are no longer. A clear caste system now exists on the tournament schedule and the voices carrying most weight belong to a distinct minority of the membership.

Major sports leagues, like motion pictures, are powered by superstars but staffed by extras. On the PGA Tour, there’s a rapidly expanding schism between cameo actors and leading men, between those who contribute (and often steal) scenes, and those who drive box office. Players at the apex of the food chain think the Tour is overly concerned with feeding the rank and file, creating too many events that pay too much for too little, while journeymen believe themselves squeezed by management’s desire to indulge the demands of the elite. It’s politics, with a smidgen more civility.

Lanto Griffin hits his tee shot on the eighth hole during round two of the Shriners Children’s Open at TPC Summerlin on October 08, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)

As the Tour moves to fundamentally reshape how it does business, the divide has never been more glaring. Consider Lanto Griffin’s comments earlier this week when Rory McIlroy resigned from the Policy Board. “Rory was great because he was approachable by everybody, but at the same time he was bought by the Tour,” Griffin said. “The head of the board has the same sponsors as the Tour and the Players, there’s influence there — I’m talking Workday, I can’t remember all of them, Golfpass. The guy who’s running the board is being paid by all the title sponsors, it’s a little sketchy to me.”

The errors of fact in Griffin’s statement rival the frequency of bogeys on his scorecards, but what’s noteworthy here is that McIlroy’s success and marketability has been weaponized against him as cause for suspicion, as evidence that he’s compromised. It won’t be the last time we hear this specious claim leveled against a prominent star. A consequence of players taking control of board decisions is that they are now deemed blameworthy by any of the Tour’s steerage passengers who think those on the upper deck are leaning on the tiller for selfish reasons. That divisiveness is likely to increase since the time is nearing for decisions that will upset many who feel their concerns are being ignored, their grievances not redressed, their future employment not assured.

About the only thing uniting locker room factions is a mutual distrust of Tour leadership. Much of that owes to June 6, when Jay Monahan squandered every atom of trust and goodwill he had accumulated over six years as commissioner. It is exacerbated by the slow pace of progress with the Framework Agreement negotiations — “deliberate,” to use Monahan’s word in a memo to players — and the absence of concrete detail. There may be progress soon on the private equity component — to the inevitable disgruntlement of some — but any Saudi involvement faces potential regulatory scrutiny, a time-consuming process. And whatever the future landscape of the Tour and the broader men’s professional game, the steps to get there will be painstaking. The Tour has roughly $6 billion in media rights revenue guaranteed through 2030, and any substantive alterations to the product it delivers before then could imperil that cash. Which leaves plenty of time for grievances to fester.

This painful reckoning for the PGA Tour has been a long time coming, a winter of discontent with many seasons yet to run. It’s all enough to make one give thanks to Woods (perè et fils) for the promise of a few days in which to appreciate things on the other side of the ropes.

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Lanto Griffin pulls no punches as Rory McIlroy leaves PGA Tour Policy Board, but who should replace him?

This veteran pro golfer has strong opinions about who should succeed McIlroy.

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – After PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan announced Tuesday evening to the membership that Rory McIlroy was stepping down as a member of the Tour Policy Board with one year left on his term in office, the talk of the locker room at Sea Island Resort has been who will replace him.

“I was actually thinking about it this morning,” said veteran pro Ryan Armour on Wednesday.

We’ll get back to Armour in a moment but let’s begin with Lanto Griffin, the winner of the 2019 Houston Open, who had plenty to say about McIlroy, who succeeded Jordan Spieth as a player director on the board, serving a three-year term (2022-24).

“Rory was great because he was approachable by everybody, but at the same time he was bought by the Tour,” Griffin said. “The head of the board has the same sponsors as the Tour and the Players, there’s influence there – I’m talking Workday, I can’t remember all of them, Golfpass. The guy who’s running the board is being paid by all the title sponsors, it’s a little sketchy to me.”

Griffin, 35, who is playing on a major medical after having a microdiscectomy to repair a disc in his back late last year, said he would like to see someone who has prior experience on the Player Advisory Council or board and was a well-liked veteran by the majority of the players.

2018 Travelers Championship
Rory McIlroy and Lanto Griffin at the 2018 Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands. (Photo: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports)

“There are certain guys out here among the top players who won’t give you the time of day and then there are guys like Rory who will. I talked to him for about 30 minutes at Players and then again in Canada, which is really nice of him, and he listens,” Griffin said. “There are some guys out here who wouldn’t do it. Justin Thomas wouldn’t do it. Collin Morikawa wouldn’t. I feel like there is an elitist group. Rory feels like he can listen in and understand where we’re coming from, too. Someone like that with personality. Brandt Snedeker just to throw a name out. Someone who is respected by everybody but also has some perspective and isn’t just making $40 million to $50 million off the course and is going to be guaranteed to be in every elevated event.”

The mention of Signature Events took Griffin down a different path, but his comments are worth exploring because they give a window into how the rank-and-file players feel heading into uncertain times. In short, Griffin contends the Signature Events are unfair because the inflated FedEx Cup points give the top players a head start to keeping their card.

“Give them all the money they want but when you start giving them the points, I’ve got a problem with that,” Griffin said. “Do you know what fifth in an elevated event next year makes in FedEx Cup points? 300. It’s 110 for a normal event. So I go play Torrey Pines with 156 players and a cut and Rory goes to L.A. the next week in a 78 players, no-cut field, and he gets nearly three times the points for the same finish. How is one going to compete with that? The guys that are making the decision are obviously going to look out for themselves. That’s where there is a disconnect for guys in my position, the normal guys. So having someone who will listen and not be only concerned about the top 10.”

Griffin clarified that whoever replaces McIlroy as a player director could be someone who once was in the top 10 but isn’t any more.

2023 DP World Tour Championship
Rory McIlroy at the 2023 DP World Tour Championship on the Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (Photo: Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)

“The (top players) deserve a lot of credit, a lot of money, but Rory shouldn’t have an advantage over me in the FedEx Cup. If he wants $20 million purses and $100 million PIP money, take it. We don’t give a s – – t. I told Rory this. I said, ‘Beginning of the year, what’s your goal? Win the FedEx Cup, win majors, win three, four times? Do you know what 70 percent of the guys out here, their main goal is? To keep their job.’ He said, ‘Fair enough.’ We care about money – that comes with good play – but we’re more worried about keeping our job. Every year there’s five to 10 really good players that go back to Korn Ferry Tour that have been out here for a long time. Do you think Rory is worried about that? JT had the worst year he’ll ever have this year and finished 71st. That was a pretty great year for me last year. I had surgery and I was hurt but still managed four top-10s. To have the deck stacked against us – we’re losing points, money, starts, it feels like, who’s making these decisions?

“Then you have what Jay did to us and I don’t know how he still has his job at this point.”

Griffin took a breath long enough to be asked if he thought Monahan could regain the trust of players. He was doubtful.

“I’ve been so turned off and I think a lot of guys are, that when we get emails I don’t even open them. I don’t even read them. It’s so emotional. Them changing the FedEx Cup, changing the points, changing the elevated events, changing all this stuff in the middle of the season. It’s BS,” he said. “When you keep getting lied to and then the final straw was Canada when they threw that bomb on us. My doctor buddy sent me a screen shot and said, ‘Are you guys joining with the PIF?’ I wrote, ‘No chance. If Jay’s alive that will never happen. As long as he’s our commissioner, that will never happen.’ Five minutes later, we get the email (about the framework agreement to create a new commercial entity with the PIF). So my buddy knew about it before I did.

“It’s sad because the dream growing up was to play on the PGA Tour. It doesn’t feel that prestigious anymore. It feels more like a job. It’s become so politicized. It’s been frustrating for a lot of guys out here. Just the image of what we’re doing, but not much else we can do but show up and do our job and see if we can play well.”

Griffin had one more name he’d like to see fill McIlroy’s board seat and mused about the role.

“A guy like (Kevin) Streelman would be great for the board,” he said. “But seriously who would want this job? I wouldn’t want this job. It’s like being president of the United States. You’d have to be a full-on narcissist to want that job.”

Here is what some players have to say about a replacement.

From worst to first, Jon Rahm struggles and welcome back Lanto Griffin among 5 things to know after Day One at Farmers Insurance Open

Here’s everything you may have missed from Wednesday at Torrey Pines.

SAN DIEGO – Sam Ryder says most of his great rounds usually start with a birdie. On Wednesday, at the first round of the Farmers Insurance Open, he did one better than that.

Starting on the par-5, 10th hole at the North Course at Torrey Pines, Ryder rolled in a long eagle putt.

“Well, that’s it for me. I’m done for the day,” Brendan Steele, one of his competitors in his grouping, recounted what Ryder said. “I was like, ‘Dude, this isn’t a best ball. You’ve got to keep playing.’ So, he just decided to go crazy.”

Ryder tallied six birdies to go along with the eagle to post a bogey-free 8-under 64 and share the lead with Aaron Rai and rookie Brent Grant. Steele did his best to keep up with Ryder, rolling in a birdie at 10, the first of seven on the round to shoot 65.

“He was always in front of me the whole day,” Steele said. “His good play was helpful. It’s nice to see balls go in the hole.”

“You do feed off that,” Ryder added of a comfortable pairing where both players were dialed in. “There’s truth to that, for sure.”

Ryder, 33, entered the tournament in a slump, having missed three straight cuts and four of his last five, but his confidence remained intact.

“I felt like I was shaking holiday rust off,” he explained. “I’ve been working hard since the start of the new year and felt good about my game. It was just, it started off the tee for me, it was drive it in the fairway and I felt like I could attack.”

Ryder tabbed it a stress-free round and it all began with the opening-hole eagle.

“There wasn’t much to the putt,” he said. “It was actually fairly straight and it was one of those when it was halfway there, it looked pretty good and it just kind of fell in perfect.”

Farmers: Thursday tee times, how to watch | Leaderboard

This PGA Tour winner is out for 5-6 months after surgery; will miss upcoming FedEx Cup playoffs

The former VCU star had a surgical procedure to relieve pain from a herniated disc in the spine pressing on an adjacent nerve root.

Lanto Griffin, who has a PGA Tour victory and a pair of Korn Ferry Tour wins under his belt, had a surgical procedure designed to relieve pain from a herniated disc in the spine pressing on an adjacent nerve root.

Not only does it mean the former VCU star and 2009 Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year will miss his own charity tournament this week, but he’ll also be forced out of the upcoming FedEx Cup playoffs. That’s adding financial pain to his recurring back issues, as with a standing of 65th in the playoffs, he’d be in prime position for a big payday.

Griffin said on Twitter that his surgery was on Monday, and it was due to an injury that occurred back in 2020. Griffin’s lone victory on the PGA Tour was at the Houston Open in 2019, but he’s had a big 2021-22 season with four top-10 finishes and over $1.7 million in earnings. His best showing was a third-place finish at The American Express in January.

In recent starts, however, Griffin’s play has taken a downturn. He made the cut but finished outside the top 50 at the AT&T Byron Nelson, PGA Championship and The Memorial, but has missed the cut in his last three starts — at the U.S. Open, the Travelers and the John Deere Classic.

“This was a very hard decision with the FedExCup playoffs a few weeks away. I’ve battled through a lot of flare-ups since January and living with intense nerve pain for the past 2 months without relief. Since John Deere I haven’t been able to swing a club period, SO it made the decision an easy one.

Griffin said he instantly felt better after waking up following the surgery and believes the timeline to return is somewhere near the end of the calendar year.

“Woke up after surgery with no nerve pain down my right glute and hamstring. It was like turning off a light switch, modern medicine is pretty amazing! 2-3 months until I can swing a club and looking at a min of 5-6 months before being back on the PGA Tour,” he said. “Can’t wait til the day I can swing a club and put socks on without pain!”

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American Express: Let’s get to know the unfamiliar names atop leaderboard

The top 10 players heading into the final day include six players looking for their first-ever PGA Tour victory.

With one round remaining in the 2022 American Express golf tournament, the leaderboard includes a lot of names that are probably new to even avid golf fans.

That’s okay, and not altogether surprising. Six of the last 15 champions here had never won a PGA event before a victory in the desert.

So with that in mind, here is everything you need to know about the contenders at the top of the leaderboard. There are 10 players at 15-under or better.

Of this group, there is one major champion, one former champion in the desert, three international players, three players playing this event for the first time, and six players looking for their first career PGA Tour win.

Paul Barjon (-18)

Age: 29

From: Born in Bordeaux, France; resides in Fort Worth, Texas

College: TCU

Number of PGA Tour wins: Zero

Best finish at this event: First appearance

Current World Golf Ranking: 313

Notable: With a win, Barjon would be the seventh international winner in the tournament’s 62-year history. It marks the first time the desert’s golf tournament would have back-to-back international winners as Si Woo Kim of South Korea won last year.

Lee Hodges (-18)

Age: 26

From: Born in Huntsville, Alabama, resides in Athens, Alabama

College: UAB and Alabama

Number of PGA Tour wins: Zero

Best finish at this event: First appearance

Current World Golf Ranking: 312

Notable: Hodges is from an athletic family. His cousin, Logan Stenberg, is an offensive lineman in the NFL for the Detroit Lions (as of 2021).

Tom Hoge (-17)

Tom Hoge tees off on hole one during the third round of The American Express at the La Quinta Country Club in La Quinta, Calif., Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022.

Age: 32

From: North Carolina, but resides in Fargo, North Dakota

College: TCU

Number of PGA Tour wins: Zero

Best finish at this event: Tied for 6th in 2020

Current World Golf Ranking: 115

Notable: For starters, his name is pronounced exactly like the word Hoagie. This is the seventh time Hoge has played here and he missed the cut, four of the previous six, so this effort on these courses is a bit of a surprise.

Seamus Power (-16)

Age: 34

From: Tooraneena, County Waterford, Ireland

College: East Tennessee State

Number of PGA Tour wins: 1 (2021 Barbasol Championship)

Best finish at this event: Tie for 11th in 2018

Current World Golf Ranking: 49

Notable: Power won the Barbasol event last year on the sixth playoff hole over J.T. Poston. In doing so, he became the fifth player from the Republic of Ireland to win a PGA event, joining Pat Doyle, Peter O’Hara, Padraig Harrington, and Shane Lowry.

Lanto Griffin (-15)

Age: 33

From: Born in Mount Shasta, California, resides in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida

College: VCU

Number of PGA Tour wins: 1 (2019 Houston Open)

Best finish at this event: Played twice and missed cut both times

Current World Golf Ranking: 117

Notable: Once on the Web.com Tour, Griffin won an event after making the cut on the number, the only time that has ever happened on that tour.

Harry Higgs (-15)

Harry Higgs tees off on the 13th hole of the Pete Dye Stadium Course at PGA West during the American Express in La Quinta, Calif., on Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022.

Age: 30

From: Born in Camden, New Jersey, lives in Dallas, Texas

College: SMU

Number of PGA Tour wins: Zero

Best finish at this event: Played here once (2020) and missed the cut

Current World Golf Ranking: 141

Notable: He’s not nervous when the bright lights are on. Higgs has only played in one major tournament in his career, the 2021 PGA Championship, and he finished tied for fourth.

Hudson Swafford (-15)

Age: 34

From: Born in Tallahassee, Florida; resides in Sea Island, Georgia

College: University of Georgia

Number of PGA Tour wins: Two (2017 CareerBuilder Challenge, 2020 Puerto Rico Championship)

Best finish at this event: Winner in 2017

Current World Golf Ranking: 166

Notable: Hudson Swafford won this event in 2017, notably edging out Adam Hadwin, whose week included a 59 at La Quinta Country Club.

Cameron Young (-15)

Age: 24

From: Born in Scarborough, New York; resides in Jupiter, Florida

College: Wake Forest

Number of PGA Tour wins: Zero

Best finish at this event: First appearance

Current World Golf Ranking: 134

Notable: Cameron Young is the only player currently on the PGA Tour whose last name begins with a Y.

Francesco Molinari (-15)

Francesco Molinari of Italy walks on the 14th hole during the third round of The American Express at the Stadium Course at PGA West on January 22, 2022, in La Quinta, California. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

Age: 39

From: Born and lives in Turin, Italy

College: University of Turin

Number of PGA Tour wins: Three (2018 Quicken Loans, 2018 British Open, 2019 Arnold Palmer Invitational)

Best finish at this event: Tied for 10th in 2015

Current World Golf Ranking: 249

Notable: Molinari is one of 13 major champions in the field at The American Express this week. He won the 2018 British Open, outlasting a star-studded group of chasers that included Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, and Xander Schauffele.

Harold Varner III (-15)

Age: 31

From: Born in Akron, Ohio; resides in Charlotte, North Carolina

College: East Carolina

Number of PGA Tour wins: Zero

Best finish at this event: Tied for 18th in 2019

Current World Golf Ranking: 95

Notable: Varner does not have a PGA Tour win, but he does have a win on the European Tour. He won the Australian PGA Championship in 2016.

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Lanto Griffin thought he’d be sipping bourbon on Saturday, instead he’s making a run at the Shriners

Lanto Griffin thought his week was over after turning in a 1-over-par 72 on Thursday.

LAS VEGAS – Lanto Griffin thought his week was over after turning in a 1-over-par 72 in Thursday’s first round of the Shriners Children’s Open.

“I felt like I played great and shooting 1 over out here is like, you’re done, like there’s no way to come back from that,” he said.

A 64 in the second round improved his mood but he still thought he would be heading home after 36 holes, telling his girlfriend he had like a 0.5 percent chance of making the cut because of defenseless, wind-free TPC Summerlin.

“I was actually in a really good mood (Friday). I had a flight booked for today and I had a lay-flat seat to Miami,” he said. “I was going to watch football and have a couple bourbons on the flight home.”

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But the wind changed Friday to give the course some teeth, and instead of flying to Miami, he made the cut and soared up the leaderboard with another 64 in Saturday’s third round. In less than 48 hours, Griffin went from thinking he was done to thinking about winning his second PGA Tour title.

With rounds of 72-64-64, he’s at 13 under, placing him one shot out of the lead held by Sungjae Im and Chad Ramey, who had yet to tee off.

“We were walking off and my caddie was like it could have been 59 today pretty easy,” Griffin said. “Obviously I’m very happy with 64. I haven’t had an easy round in a long time, so it’s kind of nice to shoot a low number and not have to stress too much.

“Just haven’t had any momentum in a while.”

Griffin, 33, who won the 2019 Houston Open, hasn’t had a top 10 since he tied for seventh in the Farmers Insurance Open last January. Since then, he’s missed seven cuts in 20 starts and has been looking at everything to turn things around.

“I’ve been working too much,” he said. “It’s been like new flavor of the week for the last year, different swing every week and sometimes every day. So we’ve been working the last couple weeks on just consistency and working on the same things.

“So today it was one of the things where things are going your way you don’t even have to push the ticket as much because you feel like you don’t need to as much, so you just make better decisions and it just kind of snowballs.”

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For Masters first-timers, the lack of a Par 3 Contest doesn’t diminish a week at Augusta National

Amid a year of lost traditions, the par-3 course at Augusta National will be awfully quiet on Wednesday. First-timers took it in stride.

Amid a year of lost traditions, the par-3 course at Augusta National will be awfully quiet on Wednesday afternoon. Normally, Wednesday is the day players let loose, put a significant other on the bag – or track down tiny caddie bibs for their kids – and hit a few trick shots around the par-3 course on the northeast corner of the property.

Lanto Griffin is playing his first Masters this week after qualifying courtesy of his 2019 Houston Open win. He started thinking about Masters Wednesday shortly after.

“It’s weird, the Par 3 Contest and having – skipping the ball over the water on 16, all those things are things that you sit back and watch during Masters week,” he said. “It’s going to be weird not having that, but at the same time you’re at Augusta National playing for a green jacket.”

Griffin would have used Wednesday as a tribute for a man who became like a second father to him growing up. Stuart Swanson was among those to step in after Griffin’s father passed away in 2001 and helped him pursue his dream.

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“We threw a party at my home course after the Houston Open about a week and a half later and I actually presented Stu with a caddie bib and gave it to him,” Griffin said. “He was going to caddie for me there. That’s not going to be possible but luckily with making it to the Tour Championship…I’m going back there in April.”

While Griffin’s path back to Augusta National in 2021, that’s not the case for an amateur. There are six of them in the field this week at Augusta, living a dream week.

John Augenstein, a fifth-year senior at Vanderbilt, is one. Like Griffin, he would have put someone special on the bag for the Par 3 Contest: his dad Drew. The elder Augenstein will be on the grounds at Augusta National this week regardless, as Augenstein’s coach. Augenstein brought his mom Susan, too, who didn’t get to be on site during the U.S. Open.

“That would have been a really cool experience getting one of my parents out there to caddie,” he said. “I think they’re more excited than me even.”

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John Augenstein hadn’t made many plans for the Par 3 Contest otherwise. His caddie for the tournament, William Kane, is a friend of Webb Simpson’s and there was talk of Augenstein joining Simpson’s group.

“Obviously it’s an incredible tradition that the Masters has,” he said. “It really is unfortunate that I’m not going to be able to experience it the first time.”

It’s perhaps the only disappointment there is about this week. Augenstein made five trips to Augusta National in preparation for the Masters. He took in the history with each trip, saw the Crow’s Nest (he won’t stay there during tournament week), the champions locker room and the clubhouse. He got the lay of the land – where his locker is, where to eat breakfast – and he studied the course.

There wasn’t a big revelation regarding the latter.

“In the fairway is obviously a premium at all times, being able to control the ball going into the greens is very important,” he said.

Augenstein has been polishing what he has, not necessarily learning new shots. He took note of all the sidehills, downhills and uphills and discovered where he’d need to shape the ball one way or another. Augenstein works with instructor Matt Killen, who has much experience preparing players for Augusta.

“Our practice plans, for eight to 10 months I’d say, have been very centered around large, curving shots,” he said. “Whether I’m in trouble and I need to hook an iron 35 yards or hit something over a tree, under a tree, around a tree, whatever it is. Really, really working on distance, shape and height.”

Andy Ogletree, the man who defeated Augenstein in the final match of the 2019 U.S. Amateur, had an easier time, perhaps, getting to Augusta National as a student at Georgia Tech. On Monday of Masters week, he relayed memories of the annual trip the Yellow Jackets got to take the Augusta. It was always a perfect morning, and one in which the first few holes passed in a fog.

Ogletree’s Par 3 Contest plans won’t come to fruition this year, but he referenced a scenario in which he would rotate family members through the afternoon, if it had happened.

“I have two brothers, so maybe let one of them caddie for three holes, the other caddie for three holes and my dad caddie for three holes or something,” he noted Monday.

For James Sugrue, the 2019 British Amateur champion, the Par 3 Contest was earmarked for his dad.

Sugrue will play the Masters, much as he did the U.S. Open, without much of a cheering squad. As it stands, his father Michael won’t even be on the grounds because his travel from Ireland to the U.S. was deemed non-essential.

Regardless, it’s Augusta National, and Sugrue will soak in the full experience. He had never seen the course until this week and planned a single night’s stay in the Crow’s Nest, the lodging typically reserved for amateurs on property.

“In my practice I’ve been doing a lot of practice on side lies and downhill and uphill and every sort of a lie but a flat lie,” Sugrue said.

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