How Ben Griffin Made a Comeback

The golfer's journey from financial strain to PGA Tour triumph, supported by a forgotten brand

- Meraj Shah

“I love the noise. It’s the closest I’ll ever get to feeling like an NFL player…” said Ben Griffin, appearing in a popular golf podcast earlier this year. Griffin, who plays on the US PGA Tour, was responding to a question about the Waste Management Phoenix Open—an event with a reputation for a raucous gallery. “You’ve got to embrace the noise. Some guys don’t like it…I don’t have a problem with it,” he added. Griffin was spot on with the observation of his peers—most pro golfers don’t like noisy galleries on the course. On most professional tournaments, a hush descends every time a player is about to hit a shot as course marshals hold up placards asking for silence. In that moment, ripe for disturbance, the inadvertent crack of a twig under someone’s foot can sound like a rifle shot. Cue, the collective stares of the gallery. “You just disrespected the players. You boor.”