Lanto Griffin has seen a lot of adversities in his life. Losing his father, surviving penniless, and then suffering one injury after another. But through it all, he has always risen above, proving that he is a formidable force to reckon with. However, after losing his second PGA Tour trophy to Scottie Scheffler, Griffin shares how his recent dabble with injuries might have impacted not just his game, including his swings, but also his posture.

“Yeah…you are in so much pain,” Griffin told Monday Q in a recent interview.

“I talked to a friend yesterday who’s going through it, and he’s trying to decide if he’s going to have surgery. [He is] not a golfer. A lot of the memories came back yesterday. I talked to him for 30 minutes just trying to give him some advice, and it’s like, you’re in so much pain you don’t really care, and you just want to get out of it.”

The injury that started it all traces back to early 2020, when Griffin started feeling a nagging lower back stiffness during his practice sessions. What at first seemed like a minor tightness soon enough escalated into sharp spasms that forced him to withdraw from the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Upon further tests, he found out that it’s a herniated L5-S1 disc, which requires a microdiscectomy surgery. This procedure made him stay out of competitive golf for months, eventually casting serious doubts on his future.

“Once that happened, and I went through surgery, coming back was like it was kind of two golf careers. It was pre-surgery and post-surgery,” Griffin explained.

So, returning to competition after his surgery in 2022 was never going to be simple. The California native faced a string of struggles, including a season last year with just one top-10 finish in 22 starts and a 158th-place finish in the FedEx Cup standings. But he clawed his way back, winning PGA Tour Q-School to retain full Tour membership and putting in the work to regain his form.

“I never knew if I was going to feel 100% or not ever again,” he admitted.

He kept facing inconsistency after that. “One day I feel loose, one day I feel tight. And it’s such a fine line…If I was playing at my local club, it wouldn’t matter if I shot 66 or 68 or 71 or 70, but that one shot here and there. makes, you know, between keeping your card and not.”

Griffin’s swing underwent subtle but significant changes. To protect his healing back, he tried adjusting his setup by widening his stance and shifting his weight slightly toward his heels.

Shoulder rotation and hip turn were restricted, creating compensations in the downswing that altered the timing of his release. Even putting a domain he once relied on for scoring suffered.

“I just got a couple bad habits after coming back from surgery. And it took me a couple years struggling. And then finally in May, it was kind of like, all right, I need to do something different because what I’ve been doing isn’t working.”

His struggles mirror those of other top pros recovering from major injuries. Brooks Koepka, for instance, endured stress fractures in his back in 2018 and 2019. Justin Thomas‘ rib stress fractures in 2019-20 forced swing adjustments that disrupted his shoulder and turn and release. Golden child Jordan Speith‘s injuries forced him to change his swings, which derailed him from finding his way back. There are many more such examples.

“There’s a bunch of golfers that have had it done and a lot of them hadn’t done a whole lot after their surgery. And I think a little bit of that has to do with just your body feeling different and moving different. It’s really hard to change your golf swing,” Griffin said.

In May 2025, he reunited with longtime coach Alex Bennett, phasing in core and stability exercises and controlled spinal movements.

“It’s hard to work out when you’re hurt. I just wasn’t consistent day in and day out.”

Nonetheless, within months, he reported feeling minimal back discomfort and regained steadiness in both swing and putting. He focused on tempo and balance rather than forcing power. The result could be seen at Procore, where he finished 3rd, right after Scottie Scheffler and Ben Griffin.

Although he lost, he has found a new perspective.

“The biggest thing since surgery is just trying to find what my new DNA is, like how I can be good with the way I feel now.”

Lanto Griffin’s emotions run high after the Procore Championship

Lanto Griffin’s name might not have been on everyone’s lips going into the Procore Championship, but after Sunday, the 37-year-old made it impossible to ignore him. Launching a final-round 65, Griffin climbed the leaderboard.

“Obviously, you want to win, but keeping your job …” Griffin said, while trying to hold his tears back.

“Just proud of myself, how I handled the [back nine] … Playing good golf is so much fun, and playing bad golf is pretty brutal on your psyche. I’ve put a lot of hard work in these last five weeks since Wyndham, and it’s kind of nice to see it come together. Still got a lot of work to do this fall, but it’s a good little boost and reminder that I’m still pretty good.”

He told NBC’s Kira K. Dixon how huge this moment was for him. “Kind of wish Scottie wasn’t here,” he says while laughing. He has now vaulted to 98th in the FedEx Cup Fall standings, just inside the critical top 100 that will secure fully exempt PGA Tour status for 2026. His next goal is to give himself a shot at the Baycurrent Classic. With six tournaments left, he hopes to get them all somehow.