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Presidents Cup: Meet the International team

By Mike Randleman

JERSEY CITY, NJ - SEPTEMBER 26: A tee marker as seen during a practice round prior to the Presidents Cup on September 26, 2017 at Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, New Jersey. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
JERSEY CITY, NJ - SEPTEMBER 26: A tee marker as seen during a practice round prior to the Presidents Cup on September 26, 2017 at Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, New Jersey. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images) /
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Presidents Cup
CHARLOTTE, NC – AUGUST 11: Emiliano Grillo of Argentina plays his shot from the fifth tee during the second round of the 2017 PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club on August 11, 2017 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /

Grillo is one of four Presidents Cup rookies on the team this year. The 25-year-old Argentinian is one of two South Americans on the team along with Jhonattan Vegas of Venezuela. Grillo is the second Argentinian in history to qualify for the team joining Ángel Cabrera.

Grillo just missed automatically qualifying for the team, finishing 11th in the standings, so Price selecting him came without too much griping, at least from me. He was also the highest-ranked player in the world still available at No. 60.

Playing without full status, Grillo nearly won on the PGA Tour in Puerto Rico in 2015 and did well in limited events to qualify for the Web.com Tour finals. He got his PGA Tour card and won the Frys.com Open as a 23-year-old in 2015. He’s yet to win since, but has a runner-up finish on the European Tour (Omega Dubai Desert Classic) and the PGA Tour (The Barclays) in 2016.

After an exceptional 2016 in which he made the cut at all four major championships, Grillo has dipped from as high as 23rd in the world to his current standing. He’s still a very ripe and talented player and has an easygoing, yet competitive demeanor that makes a good addition to the International clubhouse.

Most recently, Grillo made the cut in each of his three FedEx Cup Playoffs starts to finish 62nd in the standings to miss last week’s Tour Championship. He owns two top-10s and 16 made cuts in the 2016-2017 season.

Grillo is not particularly good on or around the greens, but he’s among a talented group of ballstrikers on the team. He’s 20th on the PGA Tour in total driving and is pretty solid playing from the fairway or rough. If paired with one of the team’s better putters, say Adam Hadwin or Marc Leishman, Grillo could help do some damage in alternate shot.

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