Peru, Ind. – Ft. Wayne’s Quinn Griffing defeated the field after firing a three-under par 69 at Rock Hollow Golf Club, and after beating Ryan Ford in a three-hole playoff at the Indiana PGA Tournament Series presented by Pepsi/Club Car.
Griffing has been close all season, with two third place finishes coming in April at the Indiana PGA Southern Open and just last week at the Indiana PGA Senior Championship.
“I struggled a little bit at the beginning of the summer,” said Griffing, a pro at the Donald Ross Golf Club. “I started playing better at the State Open and hope to finish strong for the rest of the season,” he added.
Griffing’s round consisted of five birdies today coming on the par 4, 1st hole, the par 5, 3rd, the par 5, 10th, the par 5, 15th, and the par 4, 18th. He also added two bogeys to his card on the par 4, 2nd hole, and the par 4, 5th.
“I just hit a lot of greens and a lot of fairways,” said Griffing. “I didn’t do anything special. I made a couple mistakes from bunkers, and that is where my bogeys came from. But other than that I played pretty steady,” he added.
After tying Ryan Ford, the two faced one another head-to-head in a sudden death playoff.
Both players pared the par 4, 1st hole, and bogeyed the par 4, 2nd hole, so they were forced to their third playoff hole.
On the par 5, 3rd hole, both Griffing and Ford found the fairway off the tee and were able to go for the green in two. Griffing missed just right of the green, while Ford missed long and left, and his ball trickled into the hazard.
Ford got up-and-down for par, but Griffing got up-and-down for birdie and for the win, claiming his first of the summer.
Griffing recently qualified for the third alternate spot in the National Professional Championship next June and has had seven top ten finishes this summer.
“A win feels good and I figured that shooting under-par would serve me well on this golf course.”