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Virginia Golfer
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Lanto Griffin
savored his victory
in Alabama.
Griffin Back
on the Big Stage
L
A N T O G R I F F I N I S H AV I N G
FUN AGAIN.
At the end of May, the Web.com Tour
filmed a rendition of the famous Seinfeld
episode in which Jason Alexander’s George
Costanza becomes a “marine biologist” by
finding an obstruction in the blowhole of a
beached whale. Web.com pro Harry Higgs
portrayed George, while Griffin took on the
role of Michael Richards’ goofball Kramer
character, perfectly delivering Kramer’s,
“Was it a Titleist?” line to the sound of
canned laughter.
After a year that started with some
uncertainty, Griffin—the 2015 Delta Den-
tal State Open of Virginia champion and
former Blacksburg High and Virginia
Commonwealth University standout—
had reason to kick back and play a fun
role for a tour-sponsored video. His spot
on the 2020 PGA Tour is secure.
Griffin earned his first Tour card in
2017 by finishing inside the top 25 of the
Web.com Tour’s regular-season money
list. Griffin’s first PGA Tour season in 2018
was a mixed bag. He found some early
success, tying for 12th at the Farmers
Insurance Open in January. He struggled
to make cuts until June, when he tied
for 38th at the Travelers Championship,
beginning a string of eight straight made
cuts to end the season.
It wasn’t enough to hold onto his card.
He finished 171st in the FedEx Cup stand-
ings, well below the cut (125th) to make
the first playoff event. Still, because of his
PGA Tour status, he earned a spot in the
Web.com Tour playoffs, needing only to fin-
GRIFFIN BY THE NUMBERS (AS OF JUNE 5)
2 Web.com Tour wins (Nashville Open 2017; Robert Trent
Jones Golf Trail Classic 2019)
4 Place on Web.com Tour points list
vsga.org
ish in the top 25 to return to the PGA Tour
in 2019. But his putter abandoned him, and
he missed the final three cuts in the playoffs,
relegating him to Web.com status for 2019.
The putting woes followed him into
the New Year. Griffin struggled in his
first six events, managing just one top-50
finish while missing two cuts.
“Doubts get in your mind, you know,”
he said.
Then came a putting lesson in Ponte
Vedra Beach, Fla.—where Griffin lives—
from World Golf Hall of Famer Vijay Singh,
and suddenly, something clicked. He won
the Web.com’s Robert Trent Jones Golf
Trail Classic in Alabama in April with a
birdie on the fourth playoff hole. His sec-
ond Web.com win left him understandably
emotional. He struggled to speak through
tears in a post-round interview.
“You put so much work in,” he said.
“There are so many days and weeks where
things don’t click, and you kind of wonder
if you’re going to get back in that situation
to have a chance.
“I went from the PGA Tour last year to
thoughts of, ‘Am I going to keep my card
this year on the Web?’
A week later, Griffin tied for second at
the Dormie Network Classic. He tied for
14th at the Nashville Golf Open, tied for
22nd at the KC Golf Classic and tied for
sixth at the Evans Scholars Invitational.
Through the REX Hospital Open in early
June, Griffin had accumulated 982 points.
The Web.com Tour estimates 830 points
are needed to secure a Tour card.
“I just don’t want to get a job,” Griffin said
in Alabama after his win. “I want to keep
playing. This is going to go a long ways.”
Like right back to the PGA Tour, where he
strives to make the most of a second chance.
3 Top-10 finishes on the Web.com Tour in 2019
$191,923 Earnings on the Web.com Tour in 2019
$358,380 Earnings on the PGA Tour in 2018 in 26 events
13 Made cuts on the PGA Tour in 2018
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