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Lanto Griffin
Lanto Griffin
Born: 15 June 1988
Birthplace: Mount Shasta, California, USA
College: Virginia Commonwealth University
Resides: Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, USA
Major Wins: 0
Euro or PGA Tour Wins : 1
Other Wins: 3
Grass Preference: Unknown
Significant Life Events: No
GBC Wind Performance Rating: ⭐⭐
GBC Pressure Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
BIO
Lanto is a player who has definitely peaked when reaching 30. He is quoted as saying in Spring 2017 he was ready to quit the game and were it not for an upturn in fortunes after speaking to a sports psychologist, he would have given up. He graduated from the web.com Tour (now Korn Ferry Tour) in 2017 to the PGA Tour but struggled in 2018 before returning to play the Korn Ferry Tour in 2019. A win at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail Championship allowed him to graduate to the PGA Tour once again and he took the opportunity with both hands this time, winning at the Houston Open in October 2019.
Lanto is good friends with Vijay Singh and regularly practices with him. Given Vijay's notorious work ethic, this can only be an advantage for Lanto.
A mediocre 2021 saw Lanto drop out of the top 100 in the world, although he finished the year well with two top 10's at the end of the year.
Significant info
Lanto practices out of TPC Sawgrass, home of The Players Championship.
Pressure Performance Analysis
Summary
Lanto has a very mixed record in contention, he's been reliable and unreliable in equal measure. Given his playoff record and his recent win in Houston he's given the benefit of the doubt but his Golf Betting Club Pressure Performance Rating is set to ⭐⭐⭐.
➖ Began 3 shots back from the leaders at the American Express and shot 67 to finish 3 shots back of Swafford who shot 64.
January 2021
❌ Began the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open 3 shots behind Patrick Reed. Shot 72 to finish 6 shots behind Reed. A poor effort.
October 2020
❌ Began 3 shots back from Russell Henley at the CJ Cup and shot 72 to finish 8 shots back of eventual winner Jason Kokrak who shot 64.
October 2019
✅ Lanto took a one shot lead into the final round of the Houston Open. He shot a 69 to win by one, holing a six foot par putt on the last for the win.
September 2019
❌ Began final round two shots behind Tom Lewis in the Korn Ferry Tour Championship but shot a 74 (worst score of anyone in the top 25).
April 2019
✅ Began the final round 1 shot off the pace at the Tobert Trent Jones Golf Trail Championship. Shot a 68 including a birdie at the 72nd hole to force a playoff which he won.
May 2018
❌ Lanto held a 4 shot lead going into the final round of the Nashville Golf Open but shot a 72 (2nd worst score of anyone in the top 40) to finish 2nd and lose out by 1.
Trends
Unpredictable
Lanto had two top 10's after a missed cut in 2021. He then had four top 10s in 2020, two of which came after a missed cut and one after a 58th place finish. His best finishes came in 2019 after good results but his best results in 2018 and 2017 came after missed cuts.
Events to back Griffin
Sony Open
Finished 7th in 2020 and also has a 13th in Hawaii at the Tournament of Champions.
The Players Championship
Practices at Sawgrass, could be a good oustider this year.
Playoff Record
2-0. Both of Lanto's wins on the Korn Ferry Tour came in playoffs. Notably he beat high quality opposition each time, beating Abraham Ancer in his first playoff and Robby Shelton in his second.
Significant Quotes
2021 Farmers Insurance Open
"I feel like mentally I can play hard golf courses. I like when par is a good score and I like long, hard golf courses, so it's fun for me. It's always a battle, you make a bogey and you make a birdie, you're kind of ahead of the curve, where on an easy golf course, you make a bogey, you've got to make two birdies. I think just mentally I like maybe the U.S. Open style golf courses more than the -- like last week where if you're five yards off, it could be a re-tee and out here you have a little bit of room to be creative. Just fits my eye better than some other golf courses."
April 2019
“You get to the point where you really aren’t nervous anymore, because you’ve played three holes already, and I felt fortunate to birdie 18 in regulation to get into the playoff to begin with. I tried to just stay nice and even and smooth it, and it came out and never left the flag. The reaction from the crowd, I was just praying walking up that it was inside that tap-in range, and it was. I was still nervous. I still thought I was going to miss it, but thank god I didn’t. Thank god it went in.”
