Ben Griffin Opens With 64 On Caddie Debut For Mickelson's Former Bagman

Ben Griffin opened his Mexico Open with a round of 64, his first competitive outing since the BMW Championship in August and his debut alongside new caddie Jon Yarbrough.

Griffin had ended a four-and-a-half-year partnership with Alex Ritthamel before the week in Puerto Vallarta, a switch he described as difficult given what the pair had achieved together.

"So incredible run with Alex, previous caddie," Griffin said. "Four and a half years, we changed each other's lives. So it was a really tough decision honestly. All respect to Alex. We had a great run and we had so much fun together really. Still friendly."

He added that persistence on tour had pushed him towards a change. "It's just tough out here. Four and a half years and I just felt like the time was right for me to make a switch, and yeah, it's worked out really well," Griffin said.

Yarbrough's arrival on Griffin's bag follows his most recent role caddying for Phil Mickelson, a job he took on ahead of the 2024 Masters after Mickelson's brother, Tim, stepped down, Yahoo Sports reported. Before that, he spent a decade working with Scott Stallings.

Griffin's switch was reflected immediately on the greens in Mexico. He gained over four strokes putting in the opening round and made 159 feet worth of putts, with Yarbrough reading for him from close range.

"Jon's really good on the greens," Griffin said. "He's known as one of the best green readers out here, so having him today from close range was nice to help me kind of reaffirm some of my reads."

Griffin also praised Yarbrough's temperament on his first day working together. "And then yeah, he's one of the chillest dudes out here, super calm and it's been fun so far having him one day in," he said.

Mickelson had previously described Yarbrough as the "best green reader I've ever seen" during their time together, though the pair did not win a tournament during that partnership.

Griffin's year away from competition was prompted by a troubling left knee. He revealed he had received knee injections to address the issue before returning to action in Mexico.

The 30-year-old won three times on the PGA Tour in 2025 with Ritthamel on the bag, a run that also earned him a place on the United States Ryder Cup team. He arrives in Mexico still searching for a first win of 2026.

Mickelson's absence from the sport forms the backdrop to the caddie change. The 56-year-old has not played since LIV Golf's event in South Africa earlier this season and missed the remainder of the campaign due to what Yahoo Sports described as private family matters, reporting that he voluntarily entered a California facility to address trauma and addiction.

Griffin will look to carry his opening-round form through the rest of the Mexico Open as he and Yarbrough continue to build their new partnership in Puerto Vallarta.