Rookie Emiliano Grillo Wins Frys.com Open in Thrilling Playoff Over Kevin Na
By Matt Cochran
Golf returned to the links this week after a brutal offseason and it returned in triumphant fashion. The Frys.com Open wrapped up on Sunday evening in a thrilling shootout finish in Napa Valley.
Rory McIlroy headlined the golfers, but it was Brendan Steele who put together his first career wire-to-wire 54-hole lead. Unfortunately for Steele, there were ten other golfers within two strokes of the lead entering the final round on Sunday.
It ended up being a race to see who could get to -15 under. By the end of the round, five golfers were tied for the lead at 14-under, including the clubhouse leaders of Justin Thomas and Tyron Van Aswegan. Van Awsegan fired off a final round 4-under to get himself in contention.
The final group of Andrew Loupe and Brendan Steele fell off after some shaky play. Both golfers couldn’t avoid bogeys throughout the day and fell down the leaderboard.
Kevin Na, Jason Bohn, and rookie Emiliano Grillo had the opportunity to close it out on the par-5 18th hole. Grillo was in the first group to finish and walked off the green with a birdie after burying 24-foot putt.
Justin Thomas was busy warming up on the driving range preparing for a playoff, but stopped after he heard a roar from the 18th green. JT knew his chances of a win were over and made his way over to 18 to congratulate Grillo.
The rookie was in the clubhouse with sole possession of the lead, , but he still had two more bullets to dodge with Bohn and Na finishing up on 18. Both golfers were at 14-under and had a chance to join Grillo for a playoff.
Bohn hit his second shot into the hospitality tent, ultimately ending his chances at joining the rookie. Meanwhile, Na hit driver off the deck on his second shot to give himself a chance in the rough on the right side of the green. Na had to wait a long time while Bohn figured out his penalty for hitting into the hospitality tent.
Bohn had a good recovery from his drop and was left with a 15 foot birdie attempt to join Grillo, but couldn’t convert and settled in a tie for second.
Despite the downtime, Na put a good strike on his chip to put his birdie attempt within six feet of the hole. He’d make the putt and start preparing himself for a sudden death playoff with the rookie. Grillo had a playoff record of 0-1 while the veteran Kevin Na had a record of 0-2.
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The two headed to the 18th hole for the start of the playoff and Grillo got off to a good start by putting his drive in the fairway while Na ended up in the fairway bunker. Grillo’s second shot went into the gallery on the right side, but had plenty to work with for his third shot. Meanwhile, Na put his approach shot 90 yards away.
Na hit his shot where he wanted to, but didn’t have much control with the ball coming out of the rough and left himself with a long birdie putt. Grillo made an amazing recovery shot and chipped out of the rough to about three feet for the win.
Kevin’s birdie putt was a noble attempt, but not good enough for a make and it looked like Grillo had his first career PGA TOUR victory. The Argentinian stepped up to the putt and pulled it, missing his opportunity and letting Kevin Na back in the picture. The two golfers headed back to 18 for another playoff hole.
On the second go around, the golfers traded places and it was the rookie who hit his drive in the bunker while Na was in the fairway. Grillo chunked his sand shot to 150 yards out. Na thought he could hit driver off the deck again, but duck hooked his second shot, leaving him with a very difficult up and down on the left side.
Grillo took an aggressive line for his third shot and knocked it within 10 feet to put all the pressure on Na. Na had to get his shot through a small window of tree branches and over a bunker with only 8 feet of green to stop the ball. It was a valiant effort, but the shot ran through the back of the green and it was a similar situation as the first playoff hole.
This time, the rookie made up for his mistakes and made his birdie putt to win the Frys.com Open and his first career PGA TOUR victory in eight starts. With the win, the Argentinian jumps inside the top 40 of the Official World Golf Ranking and becomes a candidate to represent his country in the Summer Olympics.
Grillo won the Web.com Tour Championship in the beginning of October and steps onto the scene with authority. He’s already put himself in talks as an early candidate for Rookie of the Year. Keep an eye for this kid to be in contention throughout this new PGA TOUR season.