Long eagle putt helps Ben Griffin nab Sanderson Farms lead

Field Level Media|published: Fri 6th October, 19:28 2023

Jul 30, 2023; Blaine, Minnesota, USA; Ben Griffin hits his tee shot on the second hole during the final round of the 3M Open golf tournament. credits: Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports

Ben Griffin rang up an eagle and seven birdies to card the round of the day and take the second-round lead at the Sanderson Farms Championship on Friday in Jackson, Miss.

Griffin's 9-under 63 at the Country Club of Jackson propelled him to 14-under 130 for the event. He leads by two shots over Luke List (66 Friday), Australia's Harrison Endycott (65), China's Carl Yuan (66) and Swede Henrik Norlander (67), who are tied at 12 under.

First-round leader Chesson Hadley posted a 69 Friday and is tied at 11 under with Harry Higgs (64), Troy Merritt (65) and China's Zecheng Dou (66).

Griffin, 27, has yet to win on the PGA Tour and earned just one top-10 finish in all of 2022-23. But he ranked a respectable 66th in the FedEx Cup Fall standings entering the week and could crack the top 60 with a win.

That would qualify Griffin for two of the tour's signature events next winter: the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Genesis Invitational.

The highlight of Griffin's round was a 65 1/2-foot eagle putt from just off the green at the par-5 14th, more than 90 feet away. It moved him into a tie for the lead, and birdies at Nos. 15 and 17 gave him a good cushion entering the weekend.

The cut line was projected Friday evening at 5 under. Sam Bennett (4 under), who made waves as an amateur at last April's Masters, was tracking to miss the cut, along with the tournament's defending champion, Mackenzie Hughes of Canada (4 under), and Argentina's Emiliano Grillo (1 under), the highest-ranked player (35th) in the field based on world ranking.

—Field Level Media

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