1 week Ago
Andrew Novak, right, embraces teammate Ben Griffin on the 18th green after they won the PGA Zurich Classic golf tournament at TPC Louisiana in Avondale, La., Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) BY ASSOCIATED PRESS Ben Griffin, left, and teammate Andrew Novak hold up their trophy after winning the PGA Zurich Classic golf tournament at TPC Louisiana in Avondale, La.
, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) Gerald Herbert Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Andrew Novak finally got over the hump. After coming painfully close to scoring his first PGA Tour victory in his past two tournaments, Novak and playing partner Ben Griffin finally found themselves on the winning side of a tight finish.
The North Carolina natives carded a 28-under-par score of 260 to edge Nicolai and Rasmus Hojgaard by one stroke and win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. The title was the first for both Novak and Griffin in a combined 190 career Tour events. They each earned $1,329,400 and 400 FedExCup points with the win.
“You never know when you’re going to get your first one,” Novak said. “It’s exciting to get our first win together. It seems like a movie script.
It’s just perfect how it all came together. The win, which came in Novak's 100th career event, was particularly sweet for Novak, who lost a sudden death playoff to Justin Thomas at the RBC Heritage in Hilton Head, S.C.
a week ago. Two weeks before that, the 30-year-old Raleigh, N.C.
native tied for third at the Texas Valero Open after a disappointing score of 4-over 76 in the final round. “I’ve done a pretty good job of not getting overly frustrated with the close shaves,” Novak said. “Yeah, it's frustrating, but it's also nice going into a tournament knowing you're playing well.
” The win was just as gratifying for Griffin, a 28-year-old Chapel Hill, N.C., who entered the Zurich with 12 top-10 placings, including runner-up finishes at the 2024 RBC Canadian Open and the 2023 Sanderson Farms Championship.
Things got so bad for Griffin four years ago, he put his golf career on hold to take a job as a loan officer in the mortgage industry. He returned to competition six months later, and eventually graduated from the Korn Ferry Tour to the PGA Tour, where he's been a regular competitor for the last three years. “For both Andrew and I, it felt like it was only a matter of time out here,” Griffin said.
“Just a lot of hard work between both of us, and for me personally, it means the world to finally get it paid off or to finally get it done. I couldn't think of a better guy to get it done with, right here with Andrew. Griffin’s 34-foot putt on the 183-yard, par-3 No.
17 was essentially the clincher. The birdie came after Novak’s tee shot flirted with the water along the back of the green before stopping just off the green. Griffin’s putt slipped in the right side of the cup, giving Novak and Griffin a two-stroke lead over Frankie Capan III and Jake Knapp, who bogeyed the hole when Capan’s tee shot landed in the lake to the left of the green.
“That tee shot is not easy with the wind off the right, after just seeing Frankie do what he did,” Griffin said. “It was awesome to see (Novak’s tee shot) stay on land and was an awesome moment for both of us when I got it down. That definitely changed the momentum.
” Added Novak: “That's really a hole where you're just looking to make 3 and go to (hole No.) 18,” Novak said. “But Ben had a different idea.
” In addition to the contentious field of 36 teams, Novak and Griffin also had to overcome a weather delay that interrupted play for 90 minutes midway through the round. It never rained during the break, and when play resumed at 4:15 p.m.
, the greens had baked under the unrelenting Louisiana sun, making them incredibly fast. “It almost really was a different golf course when we went back out there,” Novak said. “A lot of firmer bounces basically.
After the delay, pars were a pretty good score. There probably weren't a ton of birdies being made after we went back out.” The Hojgaards, a pair of Danish identical twins, earned $542,800 each for their second-place finish.
It was the second runner-up finish for Nicolai in his nascent PGA Tour career. Knapp and Capan, who were tied for the lead for much of the final round, settled for third place at 26-under after the bog on No. 17.
“It was a tough finish, but it was a great week,” Capan said. “Felt like Jake really played unbelievable. It was really fun to be by his side.
” It wasn’t Lowry and McIlroy’s day. After charging into contention during Saturday’s best-ball play, the Irish tandem never really got on track in the final round. They carded a couple of birdies on the front nine, but bogeyed Nos.
13, 15 and 17 to slip from contention down the stretch. They finished six shots back at 22-under. “I’ve been enjoying myself too much, but it’s nice,” Lowry said.
“I think we played all right to start today. We didn’t get anything to really happen for us. Everything that could go wrong went wrong.
But I had a great week. I’m happy my man came here this week and we had a great time.” McIlroy said he plans to return to his home in Florida for a week of practice before rejoining the tour at the Trust Championship in Philadelphia May 8-11.
“It’s been a fun week,” said McIlroy, who was making his first appearance since winning the Masters on April 13. “I’ve got to take a little bit of time here, reset and try to get some practice in. I’m looking forward to getting back out there.
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