PGA TOUR: Cameron Champ leads Fall Swing's most dominant players

PGA TOUR: Cameron Champ leads Fall Swing’s most dominant players

By Bill Felber | Dec 8, 2018

ST SIMONS ISLAND, GEORGIA - NOVEMBER 18: Cameron Champ of the United States smiles on the first green during the final round of the RSM Classic at the Sea Island Golf Club Seaside Course on November 18, 2018 in St. Simons Island, Georgia. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

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Emiliano Grillo of Argentina plays his shot from the 16th tee during the first round of the Mayakoba Golf Classic at El Camaleon Mayakoba Golf Course on November 08, 2018 in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images) /

A 26-year-old native of Argentina, EMiliano Grillo joined the tour in 2016. He has just one victory, the Frys.com Open his rookie season, but his fall tour card contains three notable showings, one of them a runner-up tie at the CIMB Classic. He also tied for 14th at the WGC HSBC Champions, and came home 15th a week later at the Mayakoba Golf Classic.

Grillo is hopeful those performances demonstrate his return to the form he showed as a first-year player. The 2017 and 2018 seasons were both financially acceptable – yielding $4 million – but unacceptable artistically. Grillo failed to place first or second in any of his 50 starts, his best showings being thirds at the 2018 Houston Open and Fort Worth Invitational.

He translated the fall tour performances into about $824,000 in earnings, placing him 14th to date. He ranks 48th in the Official World Golf Rankings.

Grillo’s playing profile is above average, but not dominant. In 2018, he ranked 37th in Strokes Gained Off The Tee, 43rd in Strokes Gained Approaching the Green, and just 136th in Strokes Gained Around The Green. At +0.53 strokes per round, he did reach 12th on tour in Strokes Gained Putting, although the value of that position is compromised by the relatively small impact of Strokes Gained Putting relative to the other Strokes Gained measurements.

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