Ben Griffin jokes he's been checking his bank accounts lately looking for a payment from this PGA Tour pal
Raj Mehta
A smart and incredibly prescient text message sent by Ben Griffin to his PGA Tour pal and former college teammate Ryan Gerard earlier this month helped lead to Gerard's maiden victory at the Barracuda Championship. Now Griffin is looking for a cut of his friend's winnings. Because that's what friends (with degrees in economics) do.
Of course, Griffin was (mostly) joking during Tuesday's press conference ahead of this week's Wyndham Championship. And he was ecstatic for Gerard's breakthrough win. But . . .
Q. Can you talk a little bit about the text that you sent him before Barracuda and whether you demanded anything?
BEN GRIFFIN: Yeah, just 50 percent of his earnings is all. I still haven't received anything. I've been looking on Zelle and Wells Fargo and Merrill accounts, nothing's hit yet.
Well played. The two-time PGA Tour winner then continued:
"I think anyone would have responded kind of the same way I did to Ryan after because he sent the text to both me and my caddie, like hey, I'm second alternate, should I come over there? I mean, it was Tuesday, the answer's no, you're already at —you're getting to Reno if you aren't already there, go focus on trying to win that, don't even like look at the leaderboard, don't pay attention to anything, just focus on your tournament and what you're trying to accomplish. I think any other golfer would have said that, it just so happens that me and Ryan are close 5 and so he texts me. Yeah, I'll take the credit I guess, but he's the one that was hitting all the shots. And he played really well. I'm so happy for him and his career. He's been working harder than anyone and it's really cool to have another Tar Heel win on Tour. We've had a lot of momentum kind of in the last few years and now we have David Ford out here on Tour, so it's a really exciting time to be a Tar Heel."
Shortly after, it was Gerard's turn to talk to the media. And Griffin crashed his friend's presser to get more answers on this important topic.
BEN GRIFFIN: Yeah, Ben Griffin here, PGA TOUR Comms intern. First and foremost, great answer to two questions ago. I know you're probably super nervous here in the media center for the first time leading into a PGA TOUR event. Just wanted to ask if there's anyone you could like credit towards your Barracuda Championship, first PGA TOUR victory?
RYAN GERARD: Yeah, I'm actually sweating up here I'm so nervous. Maybe it's 100 degrees outside, but it also might be—
Q. It's very comfortable in here right now.
RYAN GERARD: I'm getting the light reflection off your sunglasses into my face. So there is someone that told me to play the Barracuda instead of going to The Open Championship and I'd like to credit him a great deal. He'll remain nameless on account of anonymity and protecting the field and stuff like that, I think that's the way he'd want it to be. But if he's so inclined, I will treat him to dinner on a Wednesday night of his choosing.
Putting the pressure on him in public setting. Brilliant move by Ben. Looks like there won't be any payments hitting his bank accounts from his friend, but we're guessing he'll take him pretty deep on the bill the next time the two go out to dinner.