Andrew Novak continued to knock. During the 2025 Zurich Classic on Sunday, he and his partner Ben Griffin entered the winner’s circle. Novak and Griffin secured their first career wins on the PGA Tour in dramatic manner by finishing at 28 under in the only team event held during the regular season.
The last blow was a birdie from Griffin’s blade on the penultimate hole, which allowed Novak and Griffin to defeat twins Nicolai and Rasmus Højgaard by a single stroke.
Novak played in the last group on Sunday for the third consecutive tournament, and the victory moves him up to No. 6 in the FedEx Cup rankings. Justin Thomas defeated Novak in the opening playoff hole last week at the RBC Heritage after Novak missed an 8-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole that would have given him his first victory.
With his first trophy, Griffin leaps to No. 21 in the season-long race. In an attempt to earn a Masters invitation, the North Carolina product competed in every tournament from the Sony Open to the Texas Open, but he painfully missed qualifying by placing in the top 50 of the Official World Golf Rankings. He can relax after taking two weeks off, knowing that he will have a fantastic chance to compete in the competition the following year.
Now, Novak and Griffin are both eligible to compete in the PGA Championship and the remaining major events this season. They have secured playing permits for the upcoming two seasons, so if they so choose, they can begin their 2026 campaigns at Kapalua at The Sentry.
Even though the team played well for the first 54 holes, the eventual champions had a difficult last 18 holes. Novak and Griffin made bogey out of the gates and settled into their day after starting the final round with a three-stroke advantage. By the time they reached the eighth tee, their lead had grown back to three thanks to a couple of birdies that helped calm the nerves.
A 3-putt bogey on the par-3 9th followed a sloppy bogey from the middle of the fairway on the short par 4. The drama intensified when two teams were abruptly tied at the top of the leaderboard after Jake Knapp and Frankie Caplan III made birdie on the opposite side of the turn.
The Højgaards remained hopeful as all eyes were on the final foursomes. They resumed the talk after three birdies in a four-hole stretch. When Griffin buried a bomb on the 17th hole to recover the solo lead, the place exploded, but the three teams remained nervous in the closing moments.
Novak and Griffin knew par would be sufficient to guarantee their first, long-awaited trip into the winner’s circle, as their playing mates had made bogey on No. 17 and the Højgaards had only managed to make birdie on the par-5 finisher. Grade: A+
The remaining noteworthy teams on the 2025 Zurich Classic ranking have the following grades.
2. Nicolai Højgaard & Rasmus Højgaard (-27): The Great Danes had a cunning week because both twins finished below the top 100 in the FedEx Cup rankings going into the tournament. A victory would have allayed most of the worries, but a good performance put both players in the top 90, and it might be the beginning of a long summer of golf. Their abilities are indisputable, and they managed to push in the middle of the round to come within one stroke of the lead, but it was as close as they could get. On this stage, the 24-year-olds will become more at ease the more they put themselves in contention on the PGA Tour. Grade: A
3. Frankie Caplan III and Jake Knapp (-26): They were three strokes behind the leader going into the final round and were still that much behind on No. 8. Due to a birdie and two bogeys from their rivals, Knapp and Capan had equalled Novak and Griffin just a few holes later. They had opportunities to put pressure on the situation, but Capan’s left misses kept getting in the way. When Capan found the water off the tee and buried their team’s chances on the par-3 17th hole, it was the final blow. But for the youngster, it was a much-needed finale. Grade: A-
T13. Shane Lowry & Rory McIlroy (-22): Due in large part to McIlroy’s Masters celebrations, the reigning champions weren’t quite as solid on their return trip. The week was filled with stop-and-go runs, such as their explosive start to the second round, which saw them reach 6 under in their first 12 holes, and their opening 64, which put them a half dozen behind the pace. Three bogeys in the last six holes stopped the momentum, and an alternate-shot 69 supported by a much cleaner 61 in four-ball was the result. They were only a hair behind by that point, and when combined with a poor start and another slow finish on Sunday, a solid (but not outstanding) outcome was certain. Grade B
T18. Keith Mitchell & J.T. Poston (-21): Unexpectedly, they were defeated by the four-ball format. Due in large part to a final-round 65, Poston and Mitchell played the more challenging format in 9 under and four-ball in just 12 under. On paper, the pair should have done well in Thursday’s and Saturday’s low-scoring events, but their failure to match their peers’ birdie totals proved to be their downfall. Mitchell moved into the top 70 in the FedEx Cup rankings as a consolation prize. Grade: C
MC. Kurt Kitayama & Collin Morikawa: They lost a spot on the weekend tee list because they were 14 shots worse in foursomes than in four-ball. Morikawa and Kitayama were among the favourites after opening with a 61 in Round 1 and were playing well in Round 2 when the catastrophe hit. The two missed the cut by a few strokes after playing their final seven holes in four overs after playing their first eleven holes in one under. This was due to two double bogeys. Morikawa has already experienced two consecutive dismal tournament exits, and Kitayama is still outside the top 150 in the FedEx Cup rankings. Grade: F
