Ben Griffin wins in Mexico for 3rd PGA Tour title of the year

Griffin, playing for the second time since his Ryder Cup debut, ran off five straight birdies starting at No. 8. That included a 40-foot putt on the par-3 11th to tie the lead, a 25-foot putt on the 12th for his first lead and a 25-foot putt on the par-3 16th that all but sealed it.

He made birdie on all four of the par 3s.

“After making a few birdies early, I kind of pushed myself a little bit harder than the past few weeks when I was in contention to kind of keep the pedal down,” Griffin said. “Fortunately, the putter heated up, made a lot of putts on the back nine. It was fun feeling the nerves down the stretch trying to hold things off. It was nice to make a couple down the stretch.”

Griffin moves to a career-best No. 9 in the world ranking.

Sami Valimaki (64) and Chad Ramey (65) tied for second and picked up a valuable consolation. Valimaki started the week at No. 103 in the FedEx Cup and moved to No. 76, assuring a full card for next year. Ramey went from No. 123 to No. 89 and is likely safe to keep his card.

Two tournaments remain before the top 100 in the FedEx Cup keep full status for 2026.

“These last three tournaments, only goal was to kind of keep the playing rights for the next year, so I think they should be a done deal with this finish,” Valimaki said.

Griffin's biggest challenge came from Garrick Higgo and Carson Young, who shared the lead going to the back nine on another day of virtually no wind.

Higgo's came undone with a tee shot into a bush on No. 12 that required him to take a penalty for an unplayable lie, leading to a double bogey. He shot 68 and finished three behind.

Young made a 15-foot birdie putt on the 12th and was tied with Griffin at 27 under.

But his approach on the 13th went left down a slope, across a cart path and into the native area. He made bogey, hit a pedestrian pitch on the par-5 14th that kept him from a good look at birdie, and then three-putt for bogey on the 15th. He shot 68 and tie for sixth.

Griffin had no such issues aside from a three-putt bogey on the fifth hole. He was rock solid from there and finished at 29-under 259.

And his year is not over. He is getting married next month to Dana Myeroff.

“Crazy, three wins and getting married in the same year, hard to beat,” Griffin said.

Higgo moved to No. 52 in the FedEx Cup, which at least locks up a spot for him to play Pebble Beach and Riviera early next season, both $20 million signature events. He has finished no worse that a tie for seventh in his four starts during the FedEx Cup Fall.

“A lot of good stuff,” Higgo said. “I’ve been in contention the last four events, so I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing.”

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf