Andrew Novak finally finishes atop the leaderboard along with Ben Griffin at the Zurich Classic
AVONDALE, La. (AP) — Andrew Novak is having the kind of month that can transform a PGA Tour player’s career.
Ben Griffin was gratified to team up with his old friend during what has become a heady time for the both of them.
Griffin drained a clutch birdie putt from nearly 35 feet on the 17th hole, and the tandem combined for a 1-under 71 in alternate-shot play Sunday to become first-time PGA Tour winners — by one stroke — at the Zurich Classic.
“Luckily, I had Ben there for me today,” Novak said. “He carried us down the stretch. So exciting to get our first win together.”
Novak and Griffin finished at 28-under 260 at the Pete Dye-designed TPC Louisiana and Novak finally broke through after a pair of top-three finishes this month — the last a playoff loss to Justin Thomas a week ago at the RBC Heritage.
“I’ve done a pretty good job not getting overly frustrated with the close shaves,” Novak said. “I’ve been trying to take as many positives from each as I can. There was a lot of confidence coming into this week for sure.”
Masters champion Rory McIlroy and fellow Irishman Shane Lowry, the defending champions, were in contention through 12 holes, but fell to 12th — six shots behind — with three late bogeys.
Danish identical twins Nicolai and Rasmus Hojgaard narrowly missed out on a first PGA Tour win, finishing second after a 68.
Play was delayed by weather for just over 90 minutes with Novak on Griffin on the eighth hole.
The pair credited their friendship with helping them stay composed through the delay and play well off of one another during the tense final holes.
Novak, 30, grew up in South Carolina, and the 28-year-old Griffin is from North Carolina. They played in many of the same tournaments as teenagers, and became closer early in their pro careers, training together when they both lived in Sea Island, South Carolina.
“We’ve done just about everything in our career together,” Griffin said. “It’s just a full-circle moment … I feel like we’ve had similar tracks to where we are today.”
Novak and Griffin began the PGA Tour’s only team event three shots ahead but were caught by Jake Knapp and Frankie Capan III before pulling back ahead on Griffin’s pivotal putt on the par-3 17th.
That gave the eventual winners a two-shot lead after Capan had pulled his tee shot on 17 into the water left of the green.
“I was trying to hit the proper shot,” Capan said, noting that he was aiming about 25 feet right of the hole with the wind blowing right to left. “Just got a little quick and kind of turned it left.
“It was a tough finish; it was a great week,” Capan added.
Novak’s tee shot also went farther left than intended and he had his hand over his chest as the ball stopped near the water’s edge.
The birdie allowed his team to win with a par on 18 and capture 400 FedEx Cup points each, along with winner’s checks of $1.33 million apiece.
McIlroy and Lowry were just three shots off the lead when they bogeyed the 384-yard, par-4 13th — with each mishitting a chip before McIlroy missed a par putt from just inside 11 feet.
Despite their late fade, they had a large, supportive gallery on 18. McIlroy acknowledged fans with several waves before Lowry made a crowd-pleasing birdie putt. A smiling McIlroy retrieved the ball from the hole and flipped it into the water.
“It’s been a fun week,” McIlroy said. “We felt like we still had a good chance, and we didn’t make birdie on (the par-5 11th), and then we bogeyed 13 again for the second time this week.”
The Hojgaard twins were within a stroke of the lead after Nicolai made a 42-foot birdie putt on the par-3 14th. On 16, Rasmus narrowly missed a 27-foot birdie putt to tie for the lead, the ball stopping on edge of the hole. But that was as close as they would get.
“There’s a lot of positives from this week,” Nicolai Hojgaard said. “It’s a long time since I really enjoyed a week like this where I could have my bro as my partner and also contend.”
Isaiah Salinda and Kevin Velo, the PGA Tour rookies who led after each of the first two days, finished with a 71 and tied for eighth at 24 under. They set the tournament better-ball record Thursday with a 58.
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