What brought Charles Schwab Challenge winner Ben Griffin to tears at his press conference?
Ben Griffin wasn't expecting to get emotional when he was asked rather innocently during his winner's press conference at the Charles Schwab Challenge to talk about how he kept his composure during a trying closing stretch. But before he knew it, a flood of tears welled in his eyes.
Griffin began by pointing to his stellar short game. "I credit that going back to junior golf. My parents did so much for me growing up," he said.
That was the trigger.
"They got hit hard by the recession, the 2008 recession. They invested a lot in me being able to practice and compete," he explained, his voice cracking.
During those tough times, Griffin's family had to downsize their home and give up the country club membership. There wasn't much money to spend on golf, let alone range balls. But his parents made sure there was a public golf course for him to use. "I would chip and putt all day," he said. "I would hit maybe a half bucket of balls for $ 5 or whatever it was, and my parents, they always considered themselves middle to upper class, but I knew there for a little bit when we lost our house, when we lost everything. I know they sacrificed a lot for me."
All that practice created a lethal short game that came in handy in winning his first individual title on the PGA Tour.
"I credit a lot of my success down the stretch today to my short game. It kept me in it, and that's what I did as a kid. That's what helped my short game be so good down the stretch today," he said.
That was the last question of the press conference and the most revealing answer of all. "I didn't mean for that answer to get that emotional," he said.
All good, Ben. That was the good stuff.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: This is why Ben Griffin broke down crying at his winner's presser
