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Pro Golf - Procore Championship

Following missed birdie opportunity at 18 by Griffin, Scheffler wins Procore Championship to get first PGA Tour win in California

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By Kyle Foster, photo courtesy of Eric Thompson (Shamboozled.com)

kfost91197@gmail.com

Twitter/X: @NapaSportsNews @NapaKyle

There is a lot that Scottie Scheffler has done on the PGA Tour. But one of the things he hadn’t done was win in California. 

This all changed on Sunday afternoon at Silverado Resort & Spa’s North Course when he shot a 67 to win the Procore Championship. 

One of the reasons Scheffler was able to do this is that he stayed consistent over the first two days, moving to the top of the leaderboard before striking to secure the win on Sunday. 

“Yeah, feeling good. Overall, it was a good prep week getting ready for the Ryder Cup,” Scheffler said on the green following the win. “As far as the tournament went, I did some good stuff over the course of four days, especially over the weekend. Felt like my game got better as the week went on, and played some really nice golf Saturday and Sunday to be sitting here.” 

Scottie Scheffler holds the trophy after winning the Procore Championship on Sunday. (Eric Thompson, Shamboozled.com)

This is also his 19th win overall on the PGA Tour. With it, he takes home 500 FedExCup points and $1.08 million in prize money. The funny thing is, this qualifies him for The Master and The Sentry Tournament of Champions to kick off the season in January. He’s already qualified for these with his other 5 wins on the PGA Tour in 2025, while also winning The Masters, the PGA Championship, and The Open Championship. Another funny thing is that Scheffler didn’t have any idea this was his first win in the Golden State. He did this while also winning on a new course that he hadn’t seen before. 

“I think I try to keep it as simple as possible. I had no idea that I never won in the state of California,” Scheffler added. “It didn’t really bother me very much. I don’t think I’ve won in Oregon or Washington, you know what I mean? I think y’all’s job is to try to find something to write about, which is a good thing for me; I try to stay out of it. Approach each week individually. 

“This was a week in which I was playing a new golf course, a golf course that was pretty challenging to play for the first time,” he added. “Did a really good job of kind of staying in the tournament the first two days and then the last two. I played some really good golf in order to be in this position.” 

In the final round, Scheffler was incredible at getting the ball on the green and giving himself a chance to score. He did this by making it on in regulation 17 of 18 times and making 6 birdies. His lone blemish came on the par-4 11th, where he bogeyed. 

“Well, my plan was to try and make some birdies, but the golf course, the golf course gets really challenging late in the day,” Scheffler explained. “The wind picks up, started swirling a little bit, and the greens get pretty challenging. There’s a lot of slope, and the afternoon poa is always tough. But overall, I think I did a good job, made one bogey today, and then bounced back real quick with birdies on 12 and 15. Felt like I really needed to birdie 18, but fortunately par was enough.” 

He also had an aggregate score of 70, 68, 64, 67-269 for the weekend. The way he clinched the title came when Ben Griffin parred the 18th par-5. Griffin missed a 7-foot, 4-inch putt that would’ve forced a playoff between the two United States Ryder Cup teammates. 

“I don’t really think of it that way. I just try to hit good shots,” Griffin said of the missed opportunity on 18. “There’s a lot of hard holes I play, a lot of easy holes I play. I mean, I’ll get 18 back if I have a chance at some point in my career; otherwise, it’s all good. I gave myself a good chance. 

Ben Griffin places his ball for a putt on Sunday at the Procore Championship. (Eric Thompson, Shamboozled.com)

“I was trying to make eagle, putt was just a little slower than I expected,” Griffin continued. “I don’t know if I hit my line on the last, but I looked up and it looked like it was breaking pretty good to the left, and I tried to play it straighter to right center. It’s tough late in the day. Again, I said it yesterday, late in the day on poa annua greens, you’re just trying to put a good stroke on it and see what happens. I felt like just wasn’t quite as sharp from short range as I needed to be, but I’ll get to work this next week and hopefully make every single one of them at the Ryder Cup.”

Finishing in third in the event was Lanto Griffin. His final round score of 65 gave him third place all alone. With this, he vaulted up 42 spots in the FedExCup Fall standings. As of now, he will be getting his Tour card. However, there are still six other fall events left to play. 

Lanto Griffin was also 6-under in the first 8 holes, which immediately gave him a chance to get the victory. 

“I’ve been putting really well, and I knew if I gave myself looks, I’d have a chance to have a good round,” the third-place Griffin said. “For whatever reason, I hit some really close iron shots. That’s kind of one of those things, you’re 6 under through eight and you’re trying to just not even think about it. Kind of reset and kind of hit a little snag there at the turn. No. 9 wasn’t great, but I made a really good five-footer for bogey, and then the putt on 10 was huge, kind of gave me some confidence. 

It’s a really tricky golf course, but you’ve got to control your ball,” he continued. “When you haven’t been in contention for a while, hands feel different. Have to remind yourself to be a lot slower, but the putter felt great all four days.”  

Jackson Koivun walks up the 7th green during the Procore Championship on Sunday. (Eric Thompson, Shamboozled.com)

Amateur Jackson Koivun finished in a tie for fourth with 2015 Emiliano Grillo. Koivun shot a 71, which kept him from being in it for the victory. The good thing coming from this is that Koivun should be in line to earn his tour card.  

The next event on the golf calendar is the Ryder Cup from BethPage Park – Black September 26th-28th. The FedExCup Fall will continue at the Sanderson Farms Championship on October 205 in Jackson, Mississippi. 

 


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