NAPA, Calif. (AP) – Ben Griffin did his business on Friday, as he was at other PGA Tour stops, even with so many Ryder Cup teammates around him. He played bogey-free for the second day in a row at a 6-under 66, building a three-shot lead in the Procoll Championship.
The three-shot behind him from Silverado’s early starter was Russell Henry, making his Ryder Cup debut in two weeks. Henry dropped a few shots on his back nine and shot a 68.
Next up is JJ Spaun, the US Open Champion, and will also be participating in Bethpage Black. He gave him plenty of rights for the 68 and was five shots behind.
Silverado has 10 players on the American team, with Captain Keegan Bradley checking in everything. The victory was to compete and hold so many American players sharply, unlike two years ago, when many went in a month without competing before the Ryder Cup.
“I don’t even say my idea is the Ryder Cup. I’ve been focusing quite a bit on this golf tournament,” Griffin said. “I definitely had a Ryder Cup presence, wandering around with the guys from the golf course, but when I get to the first tee I think I’m trying to play well here.”
That part is going well. Griffin handled three par 5s on the back nine and hit a beautiful tee shot on the left pin on a sudden par 3 second bunker.
Griffin was 14 under 130.
He is one of four Ryder Cup rookies, along with Henry, Spawn and Cameron Young.
Scotty Schaeffler had some birdies than the opening round. When he didn’t hit it where he was aiming and settled on a Ho-Hum 68 with eight shots left, he had as many birdies as he didn’t hit it. Schaeffler hasn’t gotten any worse than his 8th place since March.
Henry played with Schaeffler and Span, holding him back to a 3-putt bogey from 45 feet on a par-4 third hole, moving up the board on a good scoring day until he couldn’t go back up and down from the left of the par-3 seventh green.
However, his putting was great and his time with his teammates got even better off the course.
“Being able to play on a team is a dream come true, and playing with two teammates this week was really cool during these first two days,” Henry said. “We definitely have a lot to think about, but we’re trying to make sure this is a well-prepared week.”
Henry and Scheffler joined 2-1 in the Presidential Cup and were grouped together in the practice of this tournament and weekday rounds.
Spaun didn’t feel badly sharp, but he said he was “scraping it down” to post a score.
“It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t terrible,” Spaun said. “I mean, I used a really good iron shot and made some putts outside 3 feet and called it a day.”
That’s not the case for Griffin.
About two hours after he finished, Griffin was the only person on the practice green on a gorgeous summer summer day in Napa.
“This week I’m literally trying to do the same thing as me,” Griffin said. “I’m trying to stay confident, stay motivated and hold my pedals down.”
Playing in the afternoon was Auburn junior Jackson Kovrun, who was 3-1 in the Walker Cup as the No. 1 amateur golfer last week. He opened at 67 against the pros and was about to break into Griffin.
There is also a small problem with the 36 holes cutting. All but one of Silverado’s Ryder Cup players have not faced since the British Open. Sam Burns and Patrick Cantray were right at the cut line and had to wait to see if preparations for the Ryder Cup had been extended for two days.
