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Griffin wins PGA Mexico title for third victory of the year | The Express Tribune
The 29-year-old made 10 birdies and a lone bogey to finish on a tournament record 29-under 259
MEXICO CITY:
World number 12 Ben Griffin fired a nine-under par 63 on Sunday to win the World Wide Technology Championship by two strokes for his third US PGA Tour title of the year.
The 29-year-old American made 10 birdies and a lone bogey to finish on a tournament record 29-under 259 after 72 holes at El Cardonal in Los Cabos, Mexico.
“Got off to a great start, making some birdies. I feel like I’ve done that a lot in final rounds when I’ve had a chance to win so that was nice,” Griffin said.
“I pushed myself a little harder than I have the past few weeks when I was in contention to keep the pedal down and the putter helped me out, made a lot of putts on the back nine.”
Finland’s Sami Valimaki shot 64 to share second with American Chad Ramey on 261 with South African Garrick Higgo and American Trevor Cone another stroke adrift.
Griffin joined top-ranked Scottie Scheffler and world number two Rory McIlroy as the only players with three PGA Tour triumphs this year.
He became only the seventh player since 1983 to have his first three PGA Tour victories come in the same season, the first since Scheffler in 2022.
Griffin, a member of this year’s US Ryder Cup team, captured the pairs event at New Orleans with Andrew Novak in April and the Charles Schwab Challenge in May at Colonial.
Griffin was also a runner-up in June at the Memorial and in September’s Procore Championship, a Ryder Cup tuneup tournament.
After starting the final round two strokes behind Higgo, Griffin birdied three of the first four holes before a bogey at the fifth.
Griffin reeled off five birdies in a row from the eighth through 12th holes and a birdie at the par-three 16th lifted him to 28-under par, two ahead of Valimaki.
Both birdied the par-five 18th to seal Griffin’s triumph, breaking the old course record by two strokes.
Happy Boxing Day!
The traditional British holiday featured a huge matchup, with Manchester United hosting Newcastle United as the only Premier League game of the day. In the end, a phenomenal strike from Patrick Dorgu was the difference, as Ruben Amorim’s squad hung on for a 1-0 victory and a valuable three points.
Take a look back at all the day’s action.
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Minnesota Golden Gophers wide receiver Jalen Smith made an incredible diving touchdown catch to help the team to a Rate Bowl win over the New Mexico Lobos on Friday night.
Minnesota trailed by three points in overtime and needed a field goal to extend the period or a touchdown to win the game.
On third down, Drake Lindsey found Smith between three Lobos defenders. Smith dove and made the wild catch to give Minnesota the 20-17 win.
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Minnesota wide receiver Jalen Smith scores a touchdown in overtime in front of New Mexico safety Austin Brawley (21) during the Rate Bowl Friday, Dec. 26, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
The Golden Gophers led 14-6 after Darius Taylor scored a touchdown. But on the ensuing kickoff, Damon Bankston returned a kick 100 yards for a touchdown. New Mexico’s trick play two-point conversion tied the game.
The bowl victory marked Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck’s seventh since he became the Golden Gophers’ head coach. Minnesota hasn’t lost a bowl game under Fleck and hasn’t lost a bowl game since the 2014 season, when Jerry Kill was the head coach.
GEORGIA TECH COACH BRENT KEY DEFENDS STATE OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL AMID WIDESPREAD CRITICISM
New Mexico safety Austin Brawley and safety Tavian Combs (7) react after losing to Minnesota in the Rate Bowl Friday, Dec. 26, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Lindsey was 18 of 28 with two touchdown passes, both to Smith.
The Lobos went viral during the game for their turquoise uniforms, but they didn’t do enough to distract Minnesota’s defense.
New Mexico quarterback Jack Layne was 14-for-25 with an interception.
Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck, wide receiver Jalen Smith and safety Albert Nunes lift the trophy after defeating New Mexico in the Rate Bowl Friday, Dec. 26, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
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Minnesota finishes the season with an 8-5 record. New Mexico fell to 9-4.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Brooks Koepka’s decision to leave LIV Golf years after becoming one of the notable faces to join the renegade league sent shock waves through the sport this week.
Koepka played in the LIV Golf series for more than three seasons, winning five events and taking home the PGA Championship in 2023.
Golf commentator Brandel Chamblee on Friday offered his two cents on fans clamoring for Koepka to return to the PGA Tour, writing in a post on X he disagreed with the notion.
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Brooks Koepka of Smash GC plays his shot from the third tee during the quarterfinals of the LIV Golf Michigan Team Championship at The Cardinal at Saint John’s Resort Aug. 22, 2025. (Aaron Doster/Imagn Images)
“I certainly disagree with this,” he wrote. “Allowing Brooks Koepka to return to the PGA Tour with no consequence, would undermine the very meritocratic foundations that make the PGA Tour legitimate — not because of who he is, but because of what his return (will) signal.”
Chamblee said there should be a penalty of some kind for Koepka or anyone else who jumped to the league, which is backed by the Saudi Arabian government.
“LIV did not merely offer an alternative league, it fractured fields, diluted competitive meaning, triggered legal warfare, undermined sponsorship stability, and forced structural change across all of professional golf,” he continued. “Koepka was not a passive bystander, he was a marquee legitimizer.
“You don’t punish him for being influential, but you cannot pretend his influence didn’t matter. His credibility made LIV viable, his stature normalized defection and his success (especially after joining LIV) validated the disruption.”
Brooks Koepka acknowledges the crowd on the fifth green during the first round of the British Open at the Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison, File)
Chamblee suggested a penalty would suffice and being reintegrated into the PGA Tour would be the route that officials should go with.
“A penalty would not so much be a punishment as it would be an acknowledgment of choice and the consequence does not need to be punitive to be meaningful,” he added. “He could be made to re-qualify for the PGA Tour (his 5 year exemption for winning the PGA Championship for majors may stand but not for the PGA Tour).
“He could have limited season eligibility and/or a suspension tied to prior contracted breach. The players who stayed on the PGA Tour paid a price. They had to absorb the uncertainty, play in weaker fields, shoulder reputational risk and take on a greater responsibility of protecting the tour’s continuity.”
Ultimately, Chamblee wrote, the penalty wouldn’t be about punishing anyone but rather the consequences for sending a ripple effect through the sport and protecting the PGA Tour.
“It is about whether the PGA Tour believe commitments mean something. If elite players can destabilize the system, take guaranteed money and then return instantly because they are popular or successful, the message is that rules apply only to the expendable,” Chamblee wrote.
“If excellence alone erases consequences then the PGA Tour ceases to be a meritocracy and becomes a marketplace of convenience. Great players most certainly deserve respect, but institutions deserve protection.”
Brooks Koepka plays a shot from a bunker on the second hole during the second round of the U.S. Open June 13, 2025. (Charles LeClaire/Imagn Images)
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LIV Golf said Koepka was leaving the series to prioritize the “needs of his family and staying closer to home.”
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