Andrew Novak and Ben Griffin Win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans for Their First PGA TOUR Titles

The three-shot cushion was gone, the storm had come and gone, and the leaders had not made a birdie in what felt like forever. Then Ben Griffin stood over a putt of nearly 35 feet on the 17th green and changed two careers at once.

Andrew Novak and Ben Griffin won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans on Sunday, shooting a 1-under 71 in the alternate-shot finale at TPC Louisiana to finish at 28-under 260, one shot clear of Danish twins Nicolai and Rasmus Højgaard. It is the first PGA TOUR win for both players. Jake Knapp and Frankie Capan III, tied with the leaders until the penultimate hole, finished alone in third at 26 under.

The Lead Evaporates

Foursomes was supposed to protect a three-shot lead. Instead, Sunday turned into a grind. For the second straight day, weather stopped play, this time with a suspension of more than 90 minutes that hit with Novak and Griffin on the eighth hole, per the AP. When they came back out, they made back-to-back bogeys to close the front nine.

That was the opening the chasers needed. Knapp and Capan, who had shot a 60 on Saturday, pulled level. The Højgaards, playing one group ahead, were hanging around too, and Nicolai poured in a 42-foot birdie on the par-3 14th to get within a stroke of the lead. On 16, Rasmus had a 27-footer to tie and just missed it.

Novak and Griffin, meanwhile, made par. Then another. Then five more. Seven straight pars from No. 10 through No. 16 is not glamorous, but in alternate shot it is exactly how you avoid handing a tournament away.

"Luckily, I had Ben there for me today," Novak said, per the AP. "He carried us down the stretch."

Seventeen

The par-3 17th decided everything. Capan pulled the team's tee shot into the water left of the green, and Knapp and Capan made bogey.

"Just got a little quick and kind of turned it left," Capan said, per the AP.

Novak's tee shot drifted left too, and it settled near the water's edge on the fringe. From there, Griffin rolled in the birdie from nearly 35 feet. A tie became a two-shot lead in the span of a few minutes.

"That putt on 17 was unbelievable," Novak said, per Field Level Media.

Griffin had a more modest description. "That putt, I'm just trying to lag it up there close for Andrew," Griffin said.

On 18, Griffin hit the approach to 16 feet and the pair two-putted for par. The Højgaards birdied the last in the group ahead, which is why the final margin was one instead of two.

Twins Fall One Short

The Højgaards shot a 68, one of the better scores in the alternate-shot finale, and gave the leaders everything they could handle. It was a week that reminded everyone why the brothers are one of the most dangerous pairings in this event: a bogey-free 59 on Thursday, a 64 on Saturday and a Sunday charge that came up a single shot short.

"It's been a long time since I really enjoyed a week like this where I could have my bro as my partner and also contend," Nicolai Højgaard said, per the PGA TOUR.

Behind third-place Knapp and Capan, four teams tied for fourth at 25 under: David Lipsky and Dylan Wu, Taylor Dickson and Trace Crowe, Michael Thorbjornsen and Karl Vilips, and Luke List and Henrik Norlander. Isaiah Salinda and Kevin Velo, the rookies who set the tournament record with a 58 on Thursday and led after 36 holes, shot 71 and tied for eighth at 24 under.

Rory and Shane Run Out of Road

The defending champions were in the mix through 12 holes and sat three off the lead when the 384-yard par-4 13th bit them again. McIlroy and Lowry missed a birdie chance on the par-5 11th, made three late bogeys and closed with a 72 to tie for 12th at 22 under.

"Just today nothing really happened for us," Lowry said, per Field Level Media. McIlroy, playing his first event since winning the Masters, kept perspective: "It's been a fun week."

Full Circle in New Orleans

The story here is bigger than one putt. Novak and Griffin have known each other since junior golf, and per the PGA TOUR, they reconnected in recent years while living in Sea Island, Georgia, and working with the same strength coach. Griffin once stepped away from professional golf to work as a loan officer for a mortgage group in North Carolina before restarting his career in 2021.

"I couldn't think of a better guy to get it done with, right here with Andrew," Griffin said, per the PGA TOUR.

For Novak, the timing is almost absurd. One week after losing a playoff to Justin Thomas at the RBC Heritage, Novak won. Per the PGA TOUR, Novak is the first player since Patrick Cantlay in 2022 to lose a playoff and win the following week, and this was Novak's fourth top-three finish of the season.

"It seems like a movie script, like it's not real," Novak said. "But it's just perfect how it all came together."

Each player collected 400 FedExCup points and roughly $1.33 million. Novak moved to No. 6 in the FedExCup standings and Griffin to No. 21, and Griffin, who was the last man out of the fields at the Masters and in Hilton Head, now has a spot in the PGA Championship and the final three Signature Events. They are the second duo in the team era to earn a first TOUR title at this event, joining Davis Riley and Nick Hardy in 2023.

Two first-time winners, one tournament, and a 35-footer neither will ever forget.

Relive the week in our Round 1 recap, Round 2 recap and Round 3 recap. Final scoring is on the official PGA TOUR leaderboard (opens in a new tab), and the TOUR's winner's story (opens in a new tab) has more.

Sources: PGA TOUR (winner's story, Wire to Wire and leaderboard), AP, Field Level Media, The42. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: PGA TOUR.