BEN GRIFFIN believes an ‘overdose’ caused his disastrous start to the final round of the BMW Championship on Sunday.

Griffin struggled early and dropped six shots in his first three holes including a triple-bogey on the opening hole.

And he said the issue stemmed from how and when he consumed his creatine supplement before teeing off.

He explained: “I usually take creatine as a supplement.

“But this morning I didn’t take it until right before I teed off on the first hole.

“I was at the end of my batch so I ended up with a big lump of creatine.

“It had been sitting in my bucket for a month and I broke it up put it in my water bottle and started drinking.”

Griffin said he began sipping on the mixture after his second shot on the first hole but things took a turn when he accidentally swallowed a large undissolved clump of creatine.

That moment he believes set off an unexpected reaction.

He recalled: “I started drinking after the second shot and I accidentally swallowed one of the big lumps in my water bottle.

“I’ve never overdosed on creatine before but I think I did in that moment because I didn’t drink any water afterward. I basically inhaled a snowball of creatine.”

Shortly after Griffin started to feel unwell experiencing symptoms he had never encountered before during a round.

He said: “I felt super shaky. I’ve never felt like this before, I literally felt like I had tremors.”

That kind of start would have derailed most players, especially with a Tour Championship spot on the line.

But in a remarkable turn of events Griffin managed to regain his composure.

As the symptoms faded, he found his rhythm and began to settle into the round.

Griffin said: “It was more about being flustered than anything else, by the second shot on the second hole, I felt fine again.”

Griffin went on to play a strong back nine, closing with three consecutive birdies on the front and adding four more over his final six holes to finish with a 1-under 69.

His performance put him at 3-under for the week, moving him up four spots on the leaderboard to finish in a tie for 12th.

Reflecting on the experience, he said it’s made him more cautious about how he handles supplements during competition.

He admitted: “I don’t think I’ll be taking that much creatine in the future.

“I’ll still use it, but not in the amount I took on the course. That definitely wasn’t the healthiest approach.”

World No1 Scottie Scheffler claimed a fifth victory of the PGA Tour season to win the BMW Championship.

Bob MacIntyre blew a four-shot overnight lead to allow Open champion Scheffler to win by two.