In projections-heavy FedExCup Fall, winning takes care of everything

IVINS, Utah – We live in a time of uncertainty.

Thus, the emphasis these days on projections, meticulously assembled data and exhaustively crunched numbers that may or may not ease anxiety about hurricanes, elections, and careers.

And so, after Ben Griffin had shot 6-under 66 to reach 9-under par, four back halfway through the inaugural Black Desert Championship, it seemed natural to ask him about being projected to go from FedExCup No. 62 to 60 and into two early Signature Events next season, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am and The Genesis Invitational.

“It's a lot better than being 120 to 130 right now, let's put it that way,” said Griffin, whose round was highlighted by a hole-out eagle from 204 yards at the 503-yard, par-4 13th hole. “I feel like I'm pretty freed up. Just trying to chase down a win this fall.

“More importantly than those two events I feel like for me, I have three seconds on TOUR,” he added, “so getting a win and more job security for a few years would be nicer.”

Winning is everything; it not only brings a two-year exemption on TOUR but also invitations to The Sentry, THE PLAYERS Championship, the Masters and the PGA Championship. So while the siren song of projections is especially tempting in the fall – top 125 get full playing privileges for next season, Nos. 51-60 get to Pebble Beach and Riviera – the importance of coming out on top at week’s end can hardly be overstated.

“I'm here to try to win,” said Harris English (64, 12 under, one back). “Get up the leaderboard and get those nerves going on Sunday and those butterflies and see if you can pull off a win.

“If I'm doing those things,” added English, who trailed only Adam Svensson (69, 13-under) among the morning-wave finishers, “I feel like I'm doing everything I need to do, and I don't get caught up in the points right now. If it works out, it works out.”

The record will show English has in fact won, four times. It’s just that he hasn’t done so since his two-victory season (The Sentry, Travelers Championship) in 2021. That feels like a long time ago.

Leader Svensson, who followed up his first-round 60 with a serviceable 2-under effort Friday, has only one victory to his name, having prevailed at The RSM Classic nearly two years ago.

Griffin, a 28-year-old from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, is winless.

All three were projected into the crucial 51-60 zone in the FedExCup Fall, and it would help them greatly to still be there after the completion of the season in November. Getting into the Signature Events, even just two of them, is big.

Still, winning takes care of so much more.

It’s also very, very hard to do.

At the Sanderson Farms Championship about a year ago, Griffin seemed to be tracking for his first victory but suffered a nervous finish, signed for a final-round 74 to fall into a playoff (which he lost), and rued what might have been.

This year he finished second in a different way, shooting three straight 65s only to watch someone else (Robert MacIntyre) pip him by a shot to hoist the trophy. It was one of four top-10s this season for Griffin, who also has racked up eight top-25s.

What will it take to secure that elusive first win?

“Giving yourself enough chances is really important,” Griffin said. “I think you look at a lot of guys, a lot of even some of the most successful golfers of all time, some of them may even have started off their careers with a bunch of top finishes but it took a while to break through.

“I talked to Rickie Fowler last year when I had finished second in one of the fall events,” he added. “He's like, ‘Dude, it took me three, four years to get my first win … It's just the way it goes.' I feel like you give yourself enough chances you get more and more comfortable.”

Or, more accurately, comfortable being uncomfortable.

“It's really hard to win,” English said. “You got to have some things go your way throughout the week and especially on Saturday, Sunday … But it's really just about putting yourself in position with six, nine holes to go and see what happens.”

Two rounds remain amid the black lava and red-rock cliffs of Southern Utah, which looks like nothing the PGA TOUR has ever seen. But even here, and especially now, one thing remains the same: It’s all about the W.