The 2023 RBC Canadian Open was a key point for former North Carolina Tar Heel and current world No. 70 Ben Griffin. Having missed five of his past six cuts, he decided to skip the week and practice at home instead. But like the rest of the golf world, Griffin was glued to the Golf Channel on Tuesday, June 6, 2023, a seminal moment in the sport's history.
“Wow, I can't believe this is happening,” Griffin thought to himself.
Of course, that was when the PGA Tour shockingly announced a framework agreement with the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF). No one knew what it meant at the time. Also, no one knew what the structure of the PGA Tour and LIV Golf would look like going forward. But Griffin learned a valuable lesson that day. That's something that any professional outside of the top 50 in the world should still empathize with.
Amid all the commotion, player meetings and chaos that day in Toronto, one man remained silent. Englishman Tommy Fleetwood, who lost to Nick Taylor in a play-off later that week, reflected on himself on the training ground. He hit ball after ball without worrying about the noise outside.
Griffin said Fleetwood told Golf Channel in an interview the same day that he was “not too worried.”
“That's the way it is. This week we're just going to focus on winning.”
That mindset paid off for Fleetwood, as he might have won his first PGA Tour title if not for Taylor's historic 72-foot eagle putt.
Fast forward to this week. The PGA Tour approved a series of changes Monday, including reducing its membership from 125 to 100 players, reducing field sizes for nearly all tournaments and eliminating most Monday qualifying events. Amid these obvious changes, Griffin quickly remembered Fleetwood hitting balls on the practice field, focusing on himself and silencing the noise outside.
“I've been trying to take advantage of the mindset he's had over the last year and a half and try to get less involved in a lot of policy and focus more on my career and what's at stake. Because at the end of the day, that's what matters to me,''' Griffin said Wednesday.
“The policy will continue to be that way and my goal is to win as much as possible and play as well as possible.”
Other young players are following suit, including Stephen Fisk, who will make his PGA Tour debut this week in his home state of Georgia. Fisk finished fourth in the 2024 Korn Ferry Tour standings and earned his 2025 card. One of the changes approved by the tour is reducing the number of PGA Tour cards for Korn Ferry Tour alumni from 30 to 20.
“That's what change is. Even though many people may say that some changes put me at a slight disadvantage, I look at it from a different perspective and see why those changes were made. “I can understand how it's going to work,” Fisk said Wednesday.
“Certainly, everything explained here makes sense. It may not necessarily be the best for players coming from my category, but there are still plenty of opportunities next year, so good golf. If you do, everything will be fine.”
When it comes to the heart of the matter, playing good golf solves everything. But great golf may never even be rewarded. Opportunities are limited, so players must shoot for low scores.
“You're not insensitive to the fact that we're reducing opportunities, right? Every argument, it doesn't sit well with me, it doesn't sit well with anyone, but every decision that is made is neither good nor bad. ” explained seated 2023 British Open champion Brian Herman. Serves on the Competition Rules Subcommittee, which is part of the Player Advisory Council.
“We consider all kinds of pros and cons to every piece we move around and try to find the most fair and just way to make a great product while providing ample playing opportunity for everyone.” Masu.”
Herman also talked about spending the better part of eight months in meetings trying to figure out how to better restructure the PGA Tour in the future. It's also no coincidence that these meetings and subsequent changes followed an investment from Strategic Sports Group (SSG), a consortium of prominent sports owners and private equity executives.
“These conversations are really hard because I've been on every side of that token. I've been from 100 to 125, from 70 to 100, from 1 to 20,” Herman said. added.
“I understand how all these blocks feel, but it's very difficult and uncomfortable for me to have to discuss how they move. But as presented… We look at all the information and do our best to make the best decision for the most people.”
Herman used the word “optimistic” to describe the general sentiment among players regarding these changes.
“Everything we've all talked about is really positive and everything we're trying to do is positive,” Herman said.
“I mean, who knows? Who knows? We have the data, we look at everything, you do your best and you evaluate after time. That's all you can do.”
But the only thing PGA Tour pros can do is follow Fleetwood's example and focus on their game and themselves. No one can control the content of the tour.
So for a player like Griffin, who isn't a top star but is solid, he has no choice but to follow Fleetwood's philosophy. You need to block out the noise, work, and practice. The results will follow and everything else will take care of itself.
Griffin followed this principle and ignored the noise, and it served him well in 2024. He has moved up 30 places in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) this year alone, giving him the chance to jump into the Aon Next 10. This week I had a good result at the RSM Classic. Griffin also has five top-10 finishes, including a T-8 at last week's Butterfield Bermuda Championship. Interestingly, his best finish came at this year's RBC Canadian Open, where he finished solo in second place behind Robert McIntyre.
Griffin added: “There is no value in being for or against any change.”
“That's what they are. My goal is just to play as good golf as I can.”
Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation's Playing Through. Be sure to check it out @_PlayingThrough Cover more golf. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko In the same way.
