Ben Griffin faced heartbreak at the Procore Championship. Starting the final day at 16-under with Scottie Scheffler close behind, Griffin seemed poised for victory. But Scheffler surged late, snatching the win and leaving Griffin with a candid, heartfelt reaction — a reminder that even top golfers wrestle with the game’s mental battles.

Earning praise from his rival, Scottie Scheffler himself, Griffin looked on a hot streak to get the win. However, Scheffler didn’t back down either, with 3 birdies in the first 7 holes. Griffin kept the lead with 3 birdies on the front nine. However, Griffin’s pace slowed midday when Scheffler birdied the 10th, 12th, and 15th holes, holding a one-stroke lead. For Griffin to turn around the match, he needed an eagle on the 18th. After missing that, Griffin tried to force a playoff with a birdie putt, but narrowly missed that by 15 inches. That sealed the win for Scheffler. Speaking about this stumble, Griffin gave his blunt verdict to the media: “Not everyone’s a robot like Scottie, I guess.”

Although Griffin had nothing but admiration for his Ryder Cup teammate, the loss stung him the same. But, against the World No. 1, you almost see it coming, like Griffin admitted. “Well, you know, you expect it. I knew I needed to shoot a lower round. Just the fact that I had a chance shooting 2 under, 3 under, I honestly thought I needed to go a little bit lower today,” Griffin remarked, understanding the pressure of teeing against Scheffler. However, Griffin couldn’t help but applaud Scheffler’s technical mastery. “He’s a hell of a player; he’s got the resume that’s better than pretty much everyone here. He’s just like every other player, everyone can beat everyone, you’ve just got to play better.” His 2025 season has been nothing short of dominant.

In 20 events, he’s not only made every cut but also secured 6 victories and 17 top-10 finishes, showcasing incredible consistency. With over $27.6 million in earnings, Scheffler has proven why he’s among the best in the world. His ability to stay in contention week after week, including a dramatic comeback win at the Procore Championship, highlights both his skill and mental toughness as he continues to solidify his place at the top of professional golf.

Griffin explained that things felt great from the start and even around the middle. However, understanding the gap in his game, the Ryder Cup rookie admitted he needed to convert the shots into actual points on the board. “I still made some five-, six-footers. I think I just left myself way too many of them. You need to either convert those or make a few more from mid-range.” 

But the Ryder Cup rookie is not getting himself down yet. Already shifting his eyes to Bethpage, Griffin exclaimed, “It’s all good, I’ll get to work, I’ll look at things, and I’ll practice hard this week and make sure I’m ready for the Ryder Cup.” This brings forward Griffin’s resilience and mental stature despite being a relatively younger player on the circuit. That comes more clearly with his thoughts on his loss and his 2025 season. “It’s nice. I just feel like I’ve grown so much as a player to put myself in the positions I have this season. It stings anytime you don’t win, but it’s not from a lack of effort.” With this remark, Griffin brought forward the greatest truth of the sport: results may define the leaderboards, but efforts define the player. Looking back, the memory of the back nine still lingers in Griffin’s mind, who later revealed his plan.

“18 I was trying to make eagle and win it outright because I didn’t want to take him on in a playoff, I wanted to go ahead and do it. Just a bummer to finish that way. It happens.” Finishing the day at 18-under with Scottie Scheffler one shot ahead, the day might have ended in heartbreak for Griffin. However, the bigger elephant in the room is the Ryder Cup, and the US Team members are already putting in the work.

The US Ryder Cup Team has a clear sight moving ahead

Keegan Bradley‘s squad is getting ready to break Europe’s winning streak after their humbling loss in 2023. Not wanting to repeat the mistakes they made back in 2023, Bradley had 10 of the 12 members warm up before the Bethpage showdown. That came in contrast with the two weeks off the players got in the last edition. It turns out that the players have taken complete advantage of the opportunity, testing their games with other teammates to get used to it. Scheffler was especially strategic about Procore.

Scottie Scheffler’s tournament debut at Silverado Resort’s North Course was a challenging experience for him. “This was a week in which I was playing a new golf course, a golf course that was pretty challenging to play for the first time. Did a really good job of kind of staying in the tournament the first two days, and then the last two, I played some really good golf in order to be in this position.” However, that’s the kind of challenge you’d want to put yourself in when it comes to national pride.

Scheffler revealed that the team had earlier proposed a scouting trip to Bethpage and practicing golf there. However, the team felt that nothing provided a better platform to test the waters than a tournament. “We felt it would be a little bit more valuable to get all the guys together here this week to play tournament golf in order to stay in shape.” Scheffler added, “For me there’s just a difference between practicing and playing at home and getting under the gun in a tournament.”

Other players are also getting ready to bring their A-game to Bethpage. Griffin revealed he will be focusing especially on his short game. This is something he might not have realised if not for the tournament. The U.S. players used Napa as more than a warm-up, treating it as a live rehearsal under tournament pressure. With eyes on Bethpage, each is fine-tuning weaknesses and sharpening form to make sure the team arrives battle-ready.