TRAVELERS CHAMPIONSHIP

June 25, 2026

Ben Griffin

TPC River Highlands

Quick Quotes

Q. Bogey-free 64. If we can get some comments on your round?

BEN GRIFFIN: I made a lot of putts. A lot of really long putts. I think I just heard I gained like over five on the greens, which is pretty hard to do. It was a great day with the flat stick. Hit it pretty solid as well. A couple not so great shots. But I felt like I did a good job managing the course and leaving it in the right spots when I had some misses -- except for No. 9, that was a great up-and-down. No, it was a fun day. Enjoyed playing with Ludvig. He swings it so nice. It's inspiring to see him hit some shots and see him come down -- I mean, he plays a different game than I do and it's kind of fun to watch. But nonetheless was able to beat the course pretty well today and felt like I did a good job.

Q. Your fourth Travelers, you've improved each year. What are you learning about this golf course?

BEN GRIFFIN: Yeah, I think you kind of said it, I've just learned a lot from my experience. I didn't really play a whole lot of holes leading into this event. I just played the pro-am yesterday. I hit a couple balls on the range on Tuesday. Really didn't try to offer work just coming off a major. I feel like this is a course that I have some familiarity with and that kind of makes it easier for me on some of these weeks where I can come in a little bit more rested. Felt like I felt really good going into the round body-wise and everything. Just leaned on kind of my past performance to help me. And it's not like there was anything too new about the course, a few more trees on one hole. But otherwise the greens are in great shape, I felt like I didn't have to do a ton of preparation like a normal week or like a major week.

Q. What's it like on days like that when you're filling it up at that rate?

BEN GRIFFIN: Yeah, I just feel like you just keep trusting your reads and you don't even think about your stroke really at all. I wasn't thinking mechanically about anything, it was just kind of pick your line and I felt really comfortable with the speed and just keep hitting good putts. I hit a couple not so great putts that left me like some five or 6-footers, but I made those. So, yeah, I feel like everyone kind of -- it's kind of the same thing, when guys get really hot with the putter, you kind of don't think about a whole lot, just trying to hit your lines and keep going. That's kind of what I was thinking about. Stroke felt great, didn't have to think about anything mechanically, and just kept going.

Q. What did you take away from last week at Shinnecock?

BEN GRIFFIN: Yeah, game's in good shape. A week like last week I felt like I let a couple shots slip away, especially the first couple rounds, and maybe even Saturday and Sunday, I put a good, solid round together. It just shows that when you get done with these weeks, and I finished plus 3 and finished 17th, but it's just like a couple shots here and there and all of a sudden you're right there in the mix. So I feel like I had that experience in majors recently in the last two years, where I finished, you know, I've had a lot of top finishes in majors, being like top 20s, but just to get over the hump a little bit more where I have a chance to win those, I just need to clean up a few shots here and there. It's not much and it's not like I need to do anything physically that much with my game, it's really like just making those important par putts, leaving it on right side, and staying really locked in the whole way. Because you get done with the weeks and you're trying to think about, how I can shave a shot or two there, and you can, you just got to be prepared when Thursday starts. And for me all these courses that I'm playing in major championship tests, they're all new to me. Masters, this is my first year. Shinnecock, had never been there. So it helps to have that experience of playing the courses. It's hard to play a lot of practice rounds when you have a season as long as the PGA TOUR is, so to kind of get up there and play some practice rounds early. And it's just the way it is and I feel like I'll just continue to gain more and more experience. And I know my game's -- I can compete out here and win against the best and there's no reason I can't do it at majors too, it's just a matter of keeping, keep getting the reps.

Q. You said a couple times this year that your a notoriously slow starter, and sure enough that happened this year and obviously you're on quite a nice roll over the last couple months here. What's the last thing that usually clicks into place for you that you will feel that then you're off and running?

BEN GRIFFIN: That's a good question. I haven't figured it out. If I did, then I probably wouldn't get off to such a slow start every year on TOUR on the West Coast. I think it's a lot of it is kind of like what I said, course familiarity. A week like this week, I played the last four years, so coming here I don't have to do as much prep work, I have good energy levels, and I can go out and feel fresh and rested and ready to go. For whatever reason the courses on the West Coast I just struggle with. Probably because I grew up in North Carolina, spent all of my time in the southeast. And it's a little different out there, the style of golf and how the rough reacts. I'm really good at judging rough in the southeast and really good at reading greens over here. And it's harder over there. That's how it is for some guys. Ill figure it out one of these years I'm sure. Another part is if your game is physically good you can kind of play on any if golf course and coming out of the off-season I haven't been swinging it quite as good, but it was weird, I was hitting it great going into the year, and then I got I had a little bit of a slow start. That's the way it goes sometimes. And there's so many peaks and valleys and in this game and you don't know when they're going to come. And I'm just really good at kind of trusting the process, I would say and not letting the down times get to me too much. I'm not afraid to get away from the game for a week or two if I feel like I need to know adjust, reset and go because I know my game's good enough and I just got to keep plugging along.

Q. You go to the Presidents Cup get together?

BEN GRIFFIN: Yeah.

Q. Can you describe what that was like?

BEN GRIFFIN: Just good to get the top players all together that is have a chance of being on that team. As often as possible. Last year was my first ever Ryder Cup, that was my first every time being in a team environment, even a team dinner, I was always on outside for some of those dinners the last two years. I felt like those are some of like my best core memories from the Ryder Cup this year. Obviously on the golf course, but just being together in the same room, being in the team van with each other. I feel like you can't do that enough. There's obviously been the rumors about how the U.S. team needs to find a culture and there's no doubt we have one, but the more we get together, the closer we all get with each other and it's better, it makes us more prepared when the Presidents Cup starts or the Ryder Cup starts. Yeah, getting together at dinner was great. Just hanging out with the guys. It's not like we're talking strategy or anything like that. It's not rocket science, it's golf. In terms of parings, yeah you can think about who you might want to play with if you have a chance to be on the team, and maybe get closer and get friendly with some guys that you're not sure if you want to play with or not and try to play some practice rounds with some other guys. But it was just getting together and having a good time and dinner and getting familiar and closer with the guys that maybe haven't been in those dinners, such as myself, just getting closer with a lot of those guys. When you're playing in a lot of Ryder Cups and Presidents Cups like Justin thomas or Jordan Spieth or some of those guys, they have been in those rooms and they're really close and familiar with each other. It's a lot of new names on TOUR. Bridgeman Gotterup, Akshay, so many guys that are playing really good golf, and it's not like we're all like super close, but the more times we can have dinners like that it make us even closer and makes you us probably more prepared when September comes.

Q. Sneds said he was stressing about the message and what he wanted to convey to the team. What was he sharing?

BEN GRIFFIN: I don't know why he was stressing, he's such a laid-back, great guy. It's not rocket science and he knows that. It's not like we're going to go out here and play alternate shot in practice rounds and stuff. Jim Furyk might want to see that, I don't know. Sneds, his message was simple, you guys just need to be ready for September, keep playing good golf. He's going to take the best 12 players that he believes is going to when that time comes to form the team. All of us as players our only job is to play really good golf and come in there with a ton of momentum. Similar to the Ryder Cup, the only message you can really tell your guys is keep the pedal down. When the season stops, let's not rest or, I mean, rest if you need to, but just do whatever you need to be prepared. Whether that's get up there early for a practice round and play Medinah or whatnot, just get ready for September if you're going to be on that team. And if you're on the outside looking in right now keep the pedal down and try to leave the captains with no doubt that you belong on that team. If you play really well on TOUR it takes care of itself. This TOUR's great with meritocracy, so you play really good golf you're going to get rewarded and you're going to get FedExCup point and you're going to move up that Presidents Cup standings list.