The polarising debate surrounding those 340 seconds of Scottie Scheffler’s sensational press conference last Tuesday at Royal Portrush continues.
The World No 1 has since added The Open trophy to his glistening cabinet and left the island of Ireland looking for his own career Grand Slam.
However, it wasn’t his performance on the golf course over the weekend that garnered most attention, rather his answer to Doug Ferguson’s question: “What would be the longest you’ve ever celebrated something and what was the most crushing loss?”.
What followed was an immense tussle between the mind of one of the greatest golfers of the modern era and the fickle nature of the sport we love.
Those same thoughts reverberate about the sport’s elite amateur ranks and Ryan Griffin has faced his own battles from an altogether different perspective throughout 2024 and into this year.
The Donegal golfer won the Stroke Play section at last year’s Pierse Motors South of Ireland by four shots before victory over Senan Carroll in Round 1 of the Match Play.
Griffin was primed to take his place in the latter stages until a herniated disc in his spine flared up following a freak accident away from the course.
He was soon back to complete history with his Irish teammates at Home Internationals but in the Autumn he was told he would require surgery and months away from the game he loved.
“I was struggling all last year with my back,” said Griffin.
“It flared up first in April before the Student Series final event but I managed it with physio and painkillers, which isn’t a great way to be.
“I was leading qualifier in the South and then went out and played Senan and we had a good match, I made a putt on 18 to win and that was fine, out in the afternoon against James Walsh.
“Then I went back for a quick shower because I was out first thing and I was tired, so I said I’d wake myself up. I was walking out of the bathroom after and I just slipped a little bit and tweaked something. It wasn’t anything unbelievably serious.
“But we played an event in October in Royal Dublin. The following day I was down in Carton and bent down to pick up my towel and it flared up again. It was like a lightning bolt going into the back of my spine and I knew that was the worst pain.”
Griffin underwent an MRI and subsequently saw a specialist with the news that he would have to go under the knife in November. He wouldn’t touch his golf clubs for five-and-a-half months.
“During the time away I learned that golf, like Scottie said it there last week very well, golf isn’t the be-all and end-all and it’s what I was telling everybody the whole time,” said Griffin.
“I only play the game for the enjoyment of it and a lot of people will say the same thing about me, I would always have a happy go lucky kind of smiley attitude and that’s what I admire about myself.
“That’s the way I play golf, I just go out and enjoy it and if the day comes where I’m not enjoying it, I’ll probably stop playing it.
“That’s the best approach to take.”

The 25-year-old is currently in the process of completing his Master’s in Environmental Psychology at Maynooth University.
Next month he will submit his thesis about ‘How many greens in golf?’. His comparative study about golf and sustainability compares eco-certified and traditional golf clubs.
“That’s the way the world’s going, even up in Portrush in the merchandise store, there’s a big brand Reflo and they’re all about 100% sustainability clothing. That’s just the way everything’s going to go in these next few years.
“I find it really interesting and it would be nice to kind of keep the golf niche going as well because it’s perfect for me and what I’ve studied now going through college, so we’ll definitely try and keep it up.”
Griffin hopes to have two reasons to celebrate this weekend, the Ballybofey & Stranorlar golfer will be cheering on Donegal in Sunday’s All-Ireland Senior Football Final from afar.
He hopes this time it will be while competing in a South of Ireland final at Lahinch on Sunday.
Griffin used to play Gaelic football with St Mary’s Convoy GAA club and he didn’t play golf until his early teens, it took until he was 18 before he played off scratch for the first time.
But the progress was swift in recent years backed by the opportunities from Golf Ireland and Maynooth University.
And just a few weeks before his appearance at the South of Ireland last year, he was representing the International Team against USA in the Arnold Palmer Cup at Lahinch.
Griffin has years of course knowledge and happy memories to fall back on when he returns to the County Clare coastline this week, and despite last year’s blip he should be right in contention once again.
“The course knowledge is huge,” said Griffin.
“Knowing where to miss it and miss it in the right spots. Some places, depending on the pin, you can miss it and that’s an easy up and down and you can miss some places, and you have no chance.
“It’s just doing that, getting it around, putting it in play and making a few putts and especially if you get it to the match play, making a few putts is usually what it always comes down to.
“It would be absolutely huge to win. Out of all of them that I could pick to win, the South would definitely be the one up there because it’s just such a special place and we’ve had so many good memories down there already.
“I’m so lucky to have it.”