Why didn't Ben Griffin and Andrew Novak move up in Rankings despite Zurich Classic win? Reasons explored

Ben Griffin is ranked 56th in the world by OWGR, and his Zurich Classic teammate Andrew Novak is 33rd. Those numbers, while solid considering the wealth of talent in golf right now, are not befitting of two players coming off a victory over the weekend.

In fact, those numbers are the same as they were before that duo won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. The tournament seems to have done nothing for their world ranking, which is atypical for any PGA Tour event. This is because there are no world ranking points given.

The unique nature of the tournament, the fact that it features two golfers playing together rather than just one individually, makes it hard to award points for performance. Novak and Griffin performed well, but neither one was solely responsible for that.

This is one of the unique wrinkles of the OWGR and of the Zurich Classic. However, winning the event is not totally without its advantages.

Per NBC Sports, the two winners earn a two-year exemption on the Tour and spots in the field for the PGA Championship as well as The Sentry and Players Championship in 2026.

It also counts as an official Tour win for both players, so both players have now officially won a PGA Tour event for the first time in their young careers. Novak came close but lost last weekend in a playoff to Justin Thomas at the RBC Heritage.

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Ben Griffin, Andrew Novak react to first career win

Andrew Novak came up just short last weekend at the RBC Heritage, a Signature Event. It would've been his first-ever victory on the PGA Tour. Fortunately, he only had to wait one more week to get over the agony of such a loss.

Ben Griffin and Andrew Novak won (Image via Imagn)

He and Ben Griffin outdid Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry, the Hojgaard brothers, as well as Isaiah Salinda and Kevin Velo. The winning duo was -28, one stroke clear of Rasmus and Nicolai Hojgaard.

Ben Griffin spoke for both of them after, saying via Golf.com:

“I think for both Andrew and I, it felt like it was only a matter of time out here. We both put ourselves in the mix a bunch, especially this season, but even going back to last season. Yeah, just a lot of hard work between both of us, and for me personally, it means the world to finally get it paid off or to finally get it done. I couldn’t think of a better guy to get it done with, right here with Andrew.”

The duo shot 27 under through three and had a three-stroke lead but that lead dwindled and made for a tense finish for their first win.