Staff WriterThe Costa Navarino Legends Tour finish gave Griffiths the sort of victory that feels less like a trophy lift and more like an exorcism, after he ended a maddening 68-round run containing a three-putt and rediscovered enough touch on the greens to turn frustration into silverware.
Golf, being the game it is, rarely allows a player to suffer privately. It keeps records, tells tales, sharpens knives and then, occasionally, offers a small mercy. For Griffiths, that mercy came on the back nine, where the putter finally behaved like a professional instrument rather than a farm gate in a crosswind.
Griffiths Finds His Touch When It Matters
The win was made sweeter by the end of a putting streak that had stretched all the way back to last year’s Senior PGA Championship. Sixty-eight consecutive rounds with a three-putt is not so much a statistic as a haunting. There are haunted houses with less emotional damage.
“We have put an end to it. I putted really well today on the back nine, so that was lovely!” Griffiths joked when asked about his run of 68 consecutive rounds containing a three-putt.
That little word, “lovely”, is doing an extraordinary amount of work. In golfing terms, it covers relief, disbelief, vindication and the simple pleasure of not wanting to post one’s putter to a distant relative.
More telling, though, was Griffiths’ honesty about the uncertainty that comes when form disappears for long enough to make a player question whether it has left a forwarding address.
“I’m shocked to be honest. When I won the other two, I felt like I was playing well and I felt like I should have been out there, but I hadn’t played well for such a long time. You’re just not sure if it’s ever going to come back again. So yeah, I’m over the moon happy but a little bit shocked.”
That is the heart of the matter. Winning again is one thing. Winning after wondering whether the old game is still in there somewhere is quite another.
Drysdale Left To Count The Near Misses
Drysdale had his own chance to turn the final round into a different story. He briefly held the lead and closed with a three-under-par round, which sounds tidy enough until one remembers that golf has a cruel habit of making tidy feel insufficient.
“I got off to a really good start and had the lead at one point, so it’s a little disappointing,” he said.
“I struggled on the greens all week, but I holed a couple of nice putts coming in and gave myself a chance.”
That is the professional’s lament in miniature: good start, real chance, enough putts missed to keep the journey home lively. Drysdale did plenty right, but on a day when margins tightened, the greens became both opportunity and interrogation room.
Clark Dennis Fights Back After Trouble At Seven
Clark Dennis produced one of the more resilient charges of the afternoon, recovering from a triple bogey at the seventh with an eagle at the 11th. That is not a scorecard; it is a mood disorder.
The American remained in contention deep into the final round and, despite a bogey at the last, could take plenty from the way he steadied himself after the damage.
“I was a little disappointed actually, because I made a triple on seven and a bogey on 18,” said the American. “Other than that, I played very good. My irons were really nice today and I hit quite a few nice shots coming in.”
There is a particular kind of golfing irritation in playing “very good” except for the holes that empty your pockets. Dennis’ response, though, spoke well of a player still capable of taking a slap from the course and answering with something sharp.
Major Names Add Weight To The Week
Further down the leaderboard, 2005 U.S. Open champion Michael Campbell finished on five-under-par and inside the top 20, continuing a productive week among a field rich in familiar names.
Colin Montgomerie, a Ryder Cup figure whose competitive edge has never exactly required a search party, carded a two-under-par 69. Paul Lawrie, the 1999 Open Champion, closed with a one-under-par round.
Their presence mattered. The Staysure Legends Tour is at its best when it blends competitive tension with recognition, giving galleries the chance to watch players whose careers have already left a mark and whose instincts remain pleasingly intact.
Staysure Legends Tour Heads To Ireland
The Costa Navarino Legends Tour chapter now gives way to Ireland, with the Staysure Legends Tour heading to Carton House for the OFX Irish Legends as the 2026 season continues.
For Griffiths, the next stop arrives with a different kind of baggage. The losing, doubting and three-putting streak has been packed away, at least for now.
Golf may well send another bill later — it usually does — but for one week, the putter listened, the nerve held, and a long wait ended with the only sound that really matters: the ball dropping into the cup.
