Lanto Griffin makes PGA Tour breakthrough at Houston Open
Monday 14 October 2019 01:45, UK
Lanto Griffin made a huge birdie putt on the 16th and a clutch par save at the last to claim his maiden PGA Tour title at the Houston Open.
Griffin spent most of the final round battling for the lead with Mark Hubbard and Scott Harrington, whose late bogey at the 17th would ultimately prove costly when Griffin parred the 72nd hole to complete a one-stroke victory on 14 under par.
Korn Ferry Tour graduate Griffin led overnight and showed few signs of nerves early in his final round as he birdied two of the first three holes, although he then made a mess of the par-five fourth when a poor pitch and three putts from close to 50 feet added up to a bogey-six.
The 31-year-old bounced back at the next when he knocked his approach in close to repair the damage of the previous hole, and Griffin picked up another shot at the eighth as he turned in 33.
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However, he erred again at the 11th and was fortunate to avoid the water with his blocked approach, and he missed good birdie chances at three of the next four holes before atoning with a perfect 35-footer for an unlikely two at the short 16th.
Griffin did well to two-putt from distance for par at 17, and he was in three-putt territory again on the final green after he managed to find the green with a 200-yard gouge out of the right rough, and his first jab from 60 feet trundled six feet past the cup.
But he nailed the return to finish off a 69 which earned him the narrowest of victories ahead of Hubbard and Harrington, whose 67 featured four birdies in five holes on the back nine but also two crucial dropped shots at 14 and 17, where he three-putted from just inside 40 feet.
Hubbard had provided an early highlight when he holed the longest putt of the new PGA Tour season, his 80-foot effort dropping for an improbable eagle at the fourth which he followed with birdies at the seventh and eighth.
But he missed a succession of birdie chances after the turn, and a poor drive at the long 15th led to his only bogey of the day before Hubbard parred the final three holes to stay at 13 under par.
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