Acknowledging that he and Alex Ritthamel enjoyed a successful partnership, Ben Griffin noted that deciding to replace his caddie with Phil Mickelson's former bag man was not an easy choice.

Ahead of this week’s VidantaWorld Mexico Open, caddie Jon Yarbrough made his return to the PGA Tour. He is caddying for Ryder Cup star Ben Griffin, the second highest-ranked player in the tournament's field.

Yarbrough’s former employer, Mickelson, has stepped back from golf due to personal matters, with his only LIV Golf appearance this year occurring in South Africa. 2026 marked the first time since 1990 that Mickelson missed all four major championships in a single calendar year.

In order to get the longtime caddie on the bag, Griffin had to let go of Ritthamel.

“So incredible run with Alex, previous caddie,” said Griffin after the first round in Mexico. “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. It's just tough out here.”

The new collaboration comes as Griffin looks to hone his game. Although he secured three tournament wins throughout 2025, his putting stats have slipped, with his Strokes Gained: Putting metric dropping from 0.432 in July to 0.206.

“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 continued.

“Jon's really good on the greens. 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.”

Yarbrough brings vast experience to the bag, having caddied for PGA Tour veteran Scott Stallings for several years before joining Mickelson ahead of the 2024 Masters following the departure of Mickelson's brother, Tim.

Throughout his career, Yarbrough has caddied for notable players including Gary Woodland, Bill Haas, Smylie Kaufman, Suzann Pettersen, Morgan Pressel, and Laura Diaz.

He was also on the bag when Jim Furyk shot his historic round of 59 at the BMW Championship.

“He's one of the chillest dudes out here, super calm and it's been fun so far having him one day in,” added Griffin.

Griffin is hunting for his first win since his standout 2025 season, where the 30-year-old won the World Wide Technology Championship, Charles Schwab Challenge, and the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.