From working a desk job to challenging for TPC 2023, Ben Griffin has come a long way

Ben Griffin is an inspiration for many who want to pursue their dreams. The American golfer was once forced to leave golf for a desk job. Following the financial instability, he became a loan officer at CIMG Residential Mortgage in Chapel Hill.

In an interview after the first round of the ongoing Players Championship, Griffin revealed:

"I was a loan officer, so I was financing homes, residential mortgages from I guess the end of March, the beginning of April until the end of July, the beginning of August of 2021."

Ben Graffin received an offer from the host of a Korn Ferry Tour event called Highland Spring CC, who was ready to pay his expenses to fly out. Griffin accepted the offer but could not score enough to make the cut in the tournament. Nonetheless, he was still lucky enough and was offered a sponsorship by his trainer's friend.

Griffin finally started his full-time golfing journey and earned a PGA Tour card to compete in the 2022-23 season.

He is playing in the Players Championship and finished in the T3 position after the second round.

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Professional career of Ben Griffin

Griffin was born in 1996 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He started playing golf at a very young age. However, his journey was not very easy.

After graduating from UNC in 2018, Ben set his eyes on golf. He started his journey on the Korn Ferry Tour before earning a PGA Tour card last year.

Playing in his rookie year, Griffin has a long way to go that is far from his desk job. With six finishes in the top 25, he has only missed cuts in two tournaments so far.

Ben Griffin competed at the 2023 Arnold Palmer Invitational and finished in 14th position. He is looking for his first PGA Tour victory.

Speaking about his performance at the Arnold Invitational, he said:

"Coming off a pretty decent week at Bay Hill, I didn't think I was as close as I was to winning, but I only lost by five. Against a field like that, that was one of the strongest fields I've competed against in professional golf. So to gain confidence from that, finished 14th. I was sneaky in the mix, so coming in here, it's the same field, it's the same players, it's just me versus the golf course. If I play well, I know my name is going to be up there."

The 26-year-old is now looking for his first victory at the Players Championship. Having started the inaugural round of the tournament with a birdie on his first hole of the day, people have high hopes for him.

On the first day, Griffin made seven birdies and two bogeys to end a scoring deficit of five. However, his second-day performance was not very impressive and he finished at 71 after making three birdies and a double bogey.

Ben Griffin is currently at third position at the Players Championship alongside Min Woo Lee and Collin Morikawa.