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Ben Griffin Blames Potential Ryder Cup Omission On Creatine Overdose

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Ben Griffin at the BMW Championship

© Steve Roberts-Imagn Images


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PGA Tour golfer Ben Griffin came up a bit short of a potential Ryder Cup spot following his performance at the BMW Championship. A creatine overdose is apparently to blame.

The golfer was off his game through the first three holes. He believes an accidental overconsumption of the supplement impaired his play.

The BMW Championship was the last qualifying event for the Ryder Cup roster. The top six players in the standings after Sunday’s final round earned automatic lineup spots.

Those golfers will be Scottie Scheffler, JJ Spaun, Xander Schauffele, Russell Henley, Bryson DeChambeau, and Harris English.

Griffin finished 9th in the standings, just missing out on a guaranteed spot. His slow Sunday start is now weighing heavily.

Ben Griffin was -1 at the end of his final round.

He needed to finish at around -8 to get that Ryder Cup slot. Had it not been for a shaky first three holes on Sunday, it might’ve been a possibility.

Griffin was six over on the day before teeing off at the fourth box.

He’d shoot -7 the rest of the way to finish one-under. It was rather remarkable to see him below par given how his day began.

The golfer was asked about that start after the fact. He provided reasoning while speaking to the media.

Griffin overdosed on creatine.

“I take creatine as a supplement,” he said. “This morning, I didn’t take it until I basically teed off on 1. I was at the end of my batch, and I had basically this snowball of creatine…

“I broke it up and put it in my water bottle… I took my second shot and swallowed one of the big rocks that was in my water bottle, and I’ve never ‘overdosed’ on creatine before, but I think I did in the moment…

“I started getting super shaky. I’ve never felt like this before. I felt like I had tremors. I four-putted 1, and on 2, I was freaking out and didn’t know what to do that I hit it so far out of bounds. My caddie stepped in and made me chug a whole bottle of water.”

The most common side effects of creatine include nausea, stomach pain, and muscle cramps. Dehydration is also possible and could’ve potentially resulted in the “shakes.”

Or, maybe he was simply in his own head before his caddie helped him reset. Either way, the poor start proved costly.

Ben Griffin believes he needed to get around -8 on the day to qualify for the Ryder Cup. He shot -7 on his final 15 holes.

Erase the +6 through his first three stops and he’s in serious contention. Unfortunately, he’ll be unable to scratch those struggles from the scorecard.

Griffin will now have wait to see if he’s one of captain Keegan Bradley’s final six Ryder Cup picks.