Entertainment
Points and payouts: Andrew Novak, Ben Griffin each earn $1.3M, 400 FedExCup points at Zurich Classic
With the annual New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival underway, it was fitting that some improvisation was required to determine the winner of the annual Zurich Classic of New Orleans. In both cases, you never know who’s going to deliver a memorable moment over the changes.
It was Ben Griffin who commanded the stage with a birdie conversion from just inside 35 feet and off the green at the par-3 17th hole on Sunday at TPC Louisiana. It proved to be the difference for his win with Andrew Novak en route to the duo’s one-stroke victory at 28-under 260.
It’s the first PGA TOUR victory for both Griffin and Novak, and given that No. 17 was the hardest hole on the course for the tournament, jazz aficionados especially can appreciate the giant steps that the winners have taken.
Griffin and Novak each are awarded 400 FedExCup points and $1,329,400. They’re also now officially exempt into the PGA Championship in three weeks, as well as all three remaining Signature Events. Spots in the 2026 editions of The Sentry and THE PLAYERS Championship also are secure.
Given that winning duo was just +2200 to prevail pre-tournament at FanDuel – tied for sixth-shortest among 80 partnerships in the PGA TOUR’s only official team competition – it wasn’t a surprise that it staked a three-shot lead after Saturday’s better-ball format. Navigating alternate shot in the finale proved much more challenging relative to the field as Griffin and Novak’s 1-under 71 equaled the highest of all Sunday scores among the 11 teams that finished inside the top 10.
Nicolai and Rasmus Højgaard survived a gnarly finishing hole for a birdie-4 and solo second. The identical twins from Denmark were +2500 to win.
Jake Knapp and Frankie Capan III (+9000) checked up alone in third another stroke back.
Elsewhere …
Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry not only joined forces as the defending champion but they also served as the tournament favorite at just +360, easily the shortest in the field. They settled at T12.
The second-shortest squad consisting of Collin Morikawa and Kurt Kitayama (+1400) missed the cut by two shots.
Isaiah Salinda and Kevin Velo (+15000) opened with a tournament-record 58 in better ball. They also held the lead the midpoint before drifting to a T8.
And the only previous winning team that yielded breakthrough champions, Davis Riley and Nick Hardy in 2023, finish T32 this time. That tandem was +6500 to repeat history.
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