Patient, consistent improvement leads Andrew Novak to first career PGA Tour win, U.S. Ryder Cup contention

Consistency precedes greatness. While some may portray Andrew Novak’s victory alongside Ben Griffin at the 2025 Zurich Classic as a “lesser” quality win given it was a team event without a “signature” designation, it nevertheless makes the 30-year-old a winner on the PGA Tour — an accomplishment that is getting harder to achieve by the week.

Just ask Novak.

His rise to No. 6 in the FedEx Cup standings — ahead of players such as Ludvig Åberg and Collin Morikawa — and to No. 9 in the U.S. Ryder Cup standings — past a staple like Patrick Cantlay — has come courtesy of consistent improvement. While can’t-miss kids like Åberg and Morikawa are incredible to witness at the onset of their careers, there is a deeper satisfaction and appreciation among fans when a grinder actively grinds his way to the top a little later.

There’s a relatability to seeing hard work rewarded, one close call after another before, finally, there is an answer on the other end of the line in the form of a victory. Often golfers are perceived as having everything handed to them, so when someone takes a different path, fans want to be lined up on cheering them on their way.

Novak embodies this better than most, perhaps better than all his peers on the PGA Tour. He’s a grinder through and through, and it’s a label he wears with pride.

Given he hosts a football betting podcast, it makes a lot of sense for him to be described as if he is a slot receiver drafted in the late rounds who is now converting crucial third downs in critical situations. Novak has surfaced this season, but it has been a steady climb for him from underneath.

In 2022, the American finished 156th in the FedEx Cup standings; he was forced to go to the Korn Ferry Tour Championship to retain his playing privileges. The next season, there was improvement as he finished the regular season 105th before back tracking to No. 122 in the FedEx Cup Fall.

Surely, it was a sweaty swing season given the proximity to the top-125 cutoff, so Novak left no doubt in 2024. He missed the FedEx Cup Playoffs — but not by much as he finished the year at No. 86. He jumped to No. 68 during the FedEx Cup Fall and nearly played his way into the first two signature events.

The run was highlighted by his runner-up result at the Bermuda Championship where he played in the final group alongside eventual champion, Rafa Campos. Only three starts separated Novak from another final-group appearance as he entered the last round at the Famers Insurance Open with the solo lead.

It was not meant to be. Harris English usurped him across the final 18 holes with Novak settling for a solo third-place finish. While the good play did not result in a trophy, it did push him into the Aon Swing 5, which meant Novak could play in those next two signature events.

It was a two-tournament stretch in which he acquitted himself nicely. A T13 finish at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in the first signature event of his career was followed with a T13 at the Genesis Invitational only a couple weeks later. 

March turned out to be a wash across the state of Florida, but once the PGA Tour moved to Texas, Novak’s game lit up. He posed as Brian Harman’s biggest challenger at the Texas Open vying not only his first win but the last invitation into the Masters. Some nervy chips and pitches were his undoing, and again, he settled for a T3 finish.

Closer and closer Novak got to that highly sought after first win. He came to the 72nd hole at the RBC Heritage in a field filled with stars with an 8-foot birdie look to win. It went by the wayside, and so did his chances to win after Justin Thomas made birdie on the first playoff hole.

“I think I’ve done a pretty good job not getting overly frustrated with the close shaves,” Novak said. “I’ve been trying to take as many positives from each as I can because the idea is I can put myself in that position as many times as I’m able to. I want to get better each time I’m in that position. I want to be more comfortable. I want to have things that I can look back on and improve on. Yeah, it’s frustrating, but it’s also nice going into a tournament knowing you’re playing well.”

That takes us to Sunday where Novak and Griffin were in the final foursome. The instance marked Novak’s third straight tournament in which he found himself in the final slot on the tee sheet. In fact, it marked the fifth time in his last 16 tournaments that happened.

Consistently, Novak put himself in the position to win. It didn’t work out … until it did. He got more comfortable with each experience, and in a sense, the journey to win in 2025 was emblematic of his career with steady improvement ultimately resulting in the reaching of a goal.

It took guts. It took grit. And it was perfectly Andrew Novak.