Ben Griffin has claimed that it was inspiring to play alongside Ludvig Aberg during the opening round of the Travelers Championship, despite it being the American who put himself among the leaders at TPC River Highlands.
Griffin is off to a flying start in Connecticut. The three-time PGA Tour winner made six birdies on his way to an opening round of 64.
Advertisement
Of course, had you been told before the round that someone in his pairing would post a six under par first round, you would have been forgiven for assuming that it was his playing partner who shone.
Ben Griffin reacts to playing alongside Ludvig Aberg at the Travelers Championship
Ludvig Aberg has had plenty of opportunities to win this season. The Swede has finished outside the top 25 in just one of his last 11 starts on the PGA Tour.
It was a frustrating day for Aberg, who made four birdies and four bogeys to finish the round at level par.
Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images
Nevertheless, he clearly managed to make a big impression on Griffin. He was full of praise for the European when asked about how the opening round went.
Advertisement
“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 number nine, that was a great up-and-down,” he said.
“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.”
Ben Griffin reflects on his phenomenal putting performance
Putting has been one of the big strengths of Griffin’s season. He went into the week in 24th on the PGA Tour for strokes gained on the greens this year.
Advertisement
According to Data Golf, Griffin’s best putting week of the season so far came at the Cadillac Championship, when he gained 1.45 strokes per round on the field.
He looks set to blow that out of the water judging by Thursday’s performance. As he mentioned, he gained more than five shots on the green around the time his round concluded.
He was asked about how it feels when nearly everything seems to be going right on the putting surfaces.
“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,” he said.
Advertisement
“I hit a couple not so great putts that left me like some five or six-footers, but I made those. So, yeah, 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.”
If Griffin can maintain this form over the next three days, he is certainly going to be extremely difficult to beat.
Read the full article here