Being Patrick Reed means ignoring the noise

With win, Matsuyama on short list of PGA favorites

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For the record, Lanto Griffin is 30 years old and he has never eaten red meat. Well, he did have some pepperoni on a pizza at his hotel in Las Vegas during the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open last year. But that was the only thing on the menu. Griffin has never chowed down on a hamburger or eaten a crispy piece of bacon, though. And as for savoring a thick, juicy ribeye steak, cooked perfectly medium rare? Nope. He’s been tempted, to be sure.  “That’s why I went for pepperoni,â€� Griffin admits. “It looks so good on pizza. But a burger and a steak? A filet looks appetizing, but a burger, to my eye, I’m sure it tastes amazing but it doesn’t do a whole lot for me. “I did eat one bite of steak on New Year’s one year and it was fine. So I might down the road go for a filet or something. But the problem is then I might start wanting it all the time. “So maybe it’s better just to hold off.â€� Griffin’s brother and sister, Mitra and Allian, don’t eat red meat, either. Their parents, Julie and Michael, were “big hippies and very healthy,â€� he explains. His father, who died when Griffin was 12, ran a health food store and his mom tended to her organic garden. “I wouldn’t call her a tree-hugger but she’s very conscious of the recycling and growing the garden and all that stuff,â€� he says. Griffin, who recently completed his rookie year on the PGA TOUR, remembers his mom adding chicken and fish to his diet when he was 12 or 13. So what did Griffin eat before he became a teenager? “Tofu and a bunch of stuff nobody would want to eat,â€� Griffin said, chuckling. “We ate a lot out of my mom’s garden. So at least I was lucky to learn that from a young age and now I know what is healthy and what’s not healthy. But I’ve started to cheat a little bit once I got to make my own decisions.â€� Griffin says one of his mother’s specialties was Mexican pizzas — tortillas with refried beans, cheese, pineapple,  black olives and hot sauce. “I still make that now,â€� he says. “That was really good. We’d eat a lot of salad. We were fine. It wasn’t like we were malnourished or anything. We just stayed away from the red meat.â€� When he’s home in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, Griffin likes to cook salmon, tuna and buffalo chicken, the spicier the better — “hot sauce on everything,â€� he says. But as a kid who didn’t eat meat, now that was a source of amazement to his buddies. “My best friend growing up would always be eating cheeseburger, and say, hey man, it’s really good, you should have a bite of it,â€� Griffin recalls. “But it you’ve never eaten something you don’t really miss it. “Just like smoking a cigarette. I’ve never smoked a cigarette so if you’ve never done it, you don’t really know what it’s like so you can’t miss it.â€� Griffin was born in California but moved to Blacksburg, Virginia, when he was 4-years old. He learned to play golf at a 2,700-yard nine hole course called “The Hillâ€� where he used to play 45 holes a day for just $9. “It definitely wasn’t the country club kid growing up with wealthy parents but I wouldn’t change it for the world,â€� says Griffin, who played collegiately at Virginia Commonwealth. He says he always knew his parents were a little different from his friends’ folks – and it wasn’t just because they were so health conscious. They also meditated and practiced muscle testing, or applied kinesiology, that is based on the belief that muscles are linked to different organs and glands in the body. “Personality wise, they’re not different,â€� Griffin says. “It’s more their beliefs. So all my friends were welcome. They always had a great time. They loved us to death so we had a great childhood. “It wasn’t like we were going out on the weekends and meditating in the woods. We were playing soccer, baseball — I got to do everything I wanted to do. It’s just when they came to the house we weren’t eating cheeseburgers and soda. We were eating popcorn and lemonade.â€� Of course, then there’s also the matter of his name. Griffin was named after Lord Lanto, who is an ancient ascended spiritual master. “My dad was meditating when it came to him,â€� Griffin says. “Lord Lanto for some reason, I have no idea, maybe he read something? I know. It’s crazy I’ve never heard of anybody named it, first or last name. “They were just very, I guess, spiritual. We weren’t super-religious growing up. It was more of a spiritual, you know, live off the earth-type, harmony. It’s hard to explain. They’re just good people.â€� Who didn’t happen to eat red meat.

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AUGUSTA, Ga. - The rain was falling softly in the semi-darkness as Tiger Woods stood on the practice putting green awaiting his 7:55 a.m. tee time, while legends Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player were on the nearby first tee preparing to hit their ceremonial first tee shots. Woods sensed something flying over his head. He looked up. "There was a drone flying over the putting green," he said after shooting a 4-under 68 in which he didn't make a bogey, his first bogey-free round here since 2008. "Down one today you could hear the drone over there. You don't hear drones here." Yes, CBS has added drones to the coverage. It was, all in all, a new kind of experience in the first round of the pandemic-delayed Masters at Augusta National. No patrons. No flowers. Strange plot twists. RELATED: Leaderboard | Like ‘old' times at Augusta | DeChambeau bounces back from calamity Paul Casey shot a 7-under 65 to take the early lead, although half the field didn't finish. At 5 under through 10 holes, Justin Thomas had the best round going among the late starters. "I’ve got a lot of golf left," said Thomas, whose best finish in four Masters starts was his T12 last year. "Just go home and get some rest. It’s a long day tomorrow." The rain-delayed first round was suspended for darkness with 44 players, roughly half the field, still out on the course at 5:30 p.m. They'll restart at 7:30 a.m., with round two set to begin at 9:35 a.m. Friday, if all goes according to plan. The way things have gone, that's a big if. Indeed, Thursday was an odd one. Bryson DeChambeau, the most talked about player in golf, double-bogeyed the short par-5 13th hole, the most vulnerable hole on the course, and shot 70, the same score as Larry Mize, 62. Woods began his round at the 10th hole at 10:55. He'd never started a Masters on 10, but then there's never been a November Masters, with daylight a precious commodity. Another difference: no blooming azaleas, or much of anything else. It's just too late in the year. The course does, however, have more Bermuda grass in it than normal, causing the ball to react differently. And it was humid Thursday, like East Lake in September, Casey said. Tony Finau, one of his playing partners, spun his approach shot into the bunker at the first hole. "On a good-looking wedge shot," Casey said. Woods said putts just weren't breaking. Casey said the greens were softer than ever. "There was a shot I hit on number two, a 6-iron to that left hand pin that you can’t hit that shot in April," said Casey, who eagled the hole. "It was just left of the flag. It pitched and stopped instantly, and that shot in April would have one hopped over into the patrons, and probably would have walked off with a 5 instead of a 3." A first-time Masters participant this week could return in April only to find a totally transformed, much firmer and faster course. "They are going to have a rude awakening," Casey said with a laugh. Still, he added, there remained something special about just being here, even with the quirks. Woods agreed. "There’s no patrons, no roars," he said. "Yes, as the camera guys would say, ‘Where did the ball end up? Because we just don’t know.' That’s very different. A lot of firsts today. That’s kind of the way this entire year has been. The fact that we’re able to compete for a Masters this year, considering all that’s been going on, it’s a great opportunity for all of us."

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