The Zurich Classic of New Orleans was the ultimate redemption story. 

In the PGA Tour’s lone team event, the tandem of Andrew Novak and Ben Griffin each notched their maiden wins, finishing at 28 under, one stroke ahead of Danish twins Nicolai and Rasmus Højgaard at TPC Louisiana. 

MORE: Final results, payouts from TPC Louisiana

Let’s start with Novak. He lost in a playoff to Justin Thomas last week at the RBC Heritage after finishing third in his previous start, the Valero Texas Open. The 30-year-old is now the first player to win the week after losing in a playoff since Patrick Cantlay in 2022. Coincidentally, Cantlay fell short at the RBC Heritage that year, then won the Zurich with Xander Schauffele. 

Now, Novak is finally a Tour winner after 100 career starts. 

Griffin, meanwhile, quit competitive golf nearly four years ago and became a mortgage loan officer after finding limited success on the PGA Tour Latinoamérica. However, he found his way back on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2022 and earned his Tour card for the 2023 season. 

Cracking the top 60 in the world rankings, he’s one of the Tour’s ironmen, making 14 starts already this season, including a stretch of 13 consecutive weeks. 

He and Novak met while living in Sea Island, Ga., and decided to tee it up together in New Orleans this year. 

The Zurich Classic does not reward world ranking points, but Griffin and Novak each earned two-year exemptions and 500 FedExCup points with the victory, not to mention a $1,329,400 payday for both.

But most importantly, their names are forever etched on the long list of Tour winners, a goal that each player never gave up on.


This article was originally published on www.si.com as Andrew Novak, Ben Griffin Get Long-Awaited First PGA Tour Wins at Zurich Classic.

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