Ben Griffin made a late charge into contention on Sunday afternoon at the Charles Schwab Challenge.
Griffin started the final round six strokes behind the lead and closed the gap to one with a five-under-par 65.
The 30-year-old will now be looking forward to the US Open in two weeks, having returned to form recently.
Griffin has revealed what his preparation for the event will look like, and it is a different approach from that of some of his peers.
Ben Griffin won’t follow Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood preparation before US Open
Ben Griffin’s plans for the US Open may not seem unusual, but Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood have used different approaches.
Griffin explained why he is not interested in travelling to Shinnecock Hills to practise before the week of the tournament.
“I haven’t [seen Shinnecock]. Probably go the week of. I’m not a huge guy who goes and scopes out courses,” he said after the Charles Schwab Challenge.
“I feel like, at the professional level, the courses always play differently the week of versus any other time of the year. I lived in Sea Island forever, and that course always played differently for the tournament. Even PGA National.
“It’s just that there are a lot of courses on Tour that play differently throughout the rest of the year, so I would rather get there maybe a day or two earlier.
“Taking off the week prior is one thing I’ve been liking to do at these major championships. Just go in and have an easy flowing week where I’m not playing 18, but playing nine a day and just getting a good feel for the course.
“So I’ll go up there Sunday morning or Saturday night and just have an extended week where I just play nine a day, and that will be good for me.”
While it was a reasonable assessment, McIlroy has already proven how valuable a scouting trip can be.
The Northern Irishman played several practice rounds at Augusta National before The Masters earlier this year.
Given that McIlroy won his second consecutive Green Jacket, it is difficult to argue that it was not beneficial.
Meanwhile, Tommy Fleetwood recently made a trip to Royal Birkdale ahead of the Open Championship in July.
This suggests Fleetwood has taken inspiration from McIlroy’s pre-Masters preparation at Augusta.
McIlroy and Fleetwood’s approaches raise questions about Griffin’s comments about the US Open at Shinnecock Hills.
However, with the way Griffin has been playing lately, who could argue with his approach to tournaments?
