Keegan Bradley has six captain’s picks to make.
Ben Griffin has spent most of 2025 making one of them feel pretty obvious.
The numbers are hard to argue with.
Griffin entered the TOUR Championship ranked sixth in the FedExCup standings, ninth in Ryder Cup points and 17th in the world. He had already collected two individual PGA Tour victories — the Charles Schwab Challenge and the Zurich Classic with Andrew Novak — while piling up nine top-10 finishes entering East Lake. Only Scottie Scheffler had more.
Then came East Lake.
Griffin finished tied for 10th at 12 under, shooting rounds of 66, 67, 68 and 67. In a 30-man field packed with the best players in the world, that is not exactly a bad way to finish your audition.
And the statistical profile backs it up.
Griffin finished the season with a 69.7 scoring average, 12 top-10 finishes and three victories when his Zurich team title is included. He ranked eighth on the PGA Tour in Strokes Gained: Total at 1.123 per round, while ranking 23rd in putting and 27th in approach.
That is not a guy who caught lightning in a bottle for six weeks.
That is a guy who has been good all year.
The Ryder Cup argument gets even stronger when you consider the context. Griffin is a first-time candidate for the American team, but he has already proven he can handle pressure, contend against elite fields and keep himself around the leaderboard week after week.
And Bethpage Black is going to demand exactly that.
Bradley has plenty of difficult choices. Patrick Cantlay brings experience. Justin Thomas brings experience. Collin Morikawa brings experience.
Griffin brings something else: 2025.
The season has already made his case.
East Lake simply put the final stamp on it.
Now, Keegan, don’t overthink this one.
