Ben Griffin plays Mizuno irons while Andrew Novak plays Srixon irons.
Jack Hirsh/GOLF and GOLF file
Ben Griffin and Andrew Novak each broke through for their first PGA Tour wins Sunday at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
At the PGA Tour’s only team event, the two players combined to finish 28 under par across two days of foursomes and two days of four-ball play, edging the team of Nicolai and Rasmus Hojgaard by just a shot.
For Griffin, the win was historic as Griffin is currently the only player on the PGA Tour playing Maxlfi golf balls and picked up the first win on the PGA Tour for the brand since 2003. Griffin signed an endorsement contract with the company, which is now owned by Dick’s Sporting Goods, last season and plays the Maxfli Tour X golf ball.
“Lexi drew my interest to the ball initially,” Griffin told GOLF in 2024. “I saw she was playing it and my caddie, [Alex Ritthamel], who used to caddie for Lexi’s brother Curtis, thought I should at least test out the Maxfli to see how it performed. A few months passed and I finally got my hands on some. I did some preliminary testing but wasn’t planning on doing much with the ball.
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“It was roughly 8 yards additional during preliminary testing,” Griffin said. “Around the green, I didn’t see a ton of differences across balls. That’s when the distance side really started to intrigue me. There are certain weeks out here when distance has kind of turned into a priority.”
Not only did Griffin use the Maxfli ball during the fourball play, Novak also played the ball during the two days of foursomes (alternate shot), including Sunday’s final round.
“We want to congratulate Ben Griffin and Andrew Novak on their first wins on the PGA Tour,” Ed Stack, Executive Chairman of Dick’s, told GOLF in a statement. “We are so proud to have Ben exclusively playing the Maxfli Tour X ball. Ben’s been on a remarkable journey and it was great to see it culminate in a win today. We can’t wait to see what he accomplishes next.”
Both players play the irons and wedges of their main equipment sponsor, with Griffin opting for Mizuno’s new Pro S-3 irons and Pro T-1 wedges. Novak plays a combo set of Srixon ZX7 Mk II and Z-Forged irons with Cleveland RTZ wedges.
The pair both share a the selection of Ping drivers with Griffin playing the ultra forgiving Ping G430 Max 10k and Novak choosing the new G440 LST.
Keep reading below for complete specs for both Griffin and Novak.
