PGA Tour ace Ben Griffin cheekily demanded a substantial slice of Ryan Gerard's £540,000 windfall after disclosing he played a crucial role in his breakthrough triumph. The 25-year-old secured his debut PGA Tour victory almost a fortnight ago at the Barracuda Championship, defeating previous champion Erik van Rooyen by three points.

Alongside the silverware came the substantial prize fund that represents the largest earnings of his professional career. Yet there existed a scenario where Gerard wouldn't have even participated in the tournament as he was scheduled to jet off to Northern Ireland for The Open Championship - which was won by Scottie Scheffler - where he held second alternate status.

His 11th-hour journey to Portrush never materialised following a message from Griffin, 29, encouraging him to stay stateside and concentrate on the competition staged at the Tahoe Mountain Club - advice that led to his friend winning a life-changing amount of money, reports the Mirror US.

Griffin - who won the Charles Schwab Challenge in May - disclosed the details of the story before the Wyndham Championship commencing on Thursday, where he'll compete against Gerard. "I think anyone would have responded kind of the same way I did to Ryan (Gerard)," Griffin said.

"Because he sent the text to both me and my caddie like, 'Hey, I'm second alternate, should I come over there?' I mean, it was Tuesday, the answer's no. Go focus on trying to win that (the Barracuda Championship), don't even, like, look at the leaderboard, don't pay attention to anything, just focus on your tournament and what you're trying to accomplish. I think any other golfer would have said that, it just so happens that me and Ryan are close and so he texts me."

Whilst Griffin himself is enjoying a career and financial-best season where he's pocketed over £6million in prize money this year, it didn't prevent him from cheekily requesting a sizeable portion of Gerard's prize fund. "Just 50% of his earnings, is all," Griffin quipped. "I still haven't received anything. I've been looking on Zelle and Wells Fargo and Merrill accounts, nothing's hit yet... I'll take the credit I guess."

It was last month where Griffin was at the centre of a row involving golfing great Jack Nicklaus, but the Chapel Hill-born player received sympathy from the 85-year-old, who voiced his opposition to the presence of TV interviews on the course. The 29-year-old was taking part in the Memorial Tournament last month, the tournament that is organised by the 18-time major winner.

After strolling towards his ball in the second round, Griffin was confronted by Golf Channel's Rex Hoggard who carried out a walk-and-talk interview. The journalist said: "Joked yesterday, I asked you what your energy levels are like, and your wife had one answer. She said she was exhausted, you said you were fine. How are you?"

Griffin replied before coverage returned to the commentary box where Nicklaus was positioned as a guest and it wasn't long before he confessed his disapproval. "I can't stand that," Nicklaus said. "The interview on the golf course.

"Let me tell you how I think, how I feel. I mean, seriously, here's a guy who's leading the golf tournament, he's just hit the edge of the rough, he's got a very difficult shot on a very difficult hole, and you're talking to him about stuff that totally takes his mind off of what he was doing. How would you think [Ben] Hogan would respond to that question?"

When TV host Terry Gannon added his take on today's golfing world by saying: "Times have changed", Nicklaus replied: "You would not have any teeth left if you did. He'd [Hogan] hit you right in the face with it."