Mayakoba Golf Classic: Emiliano Grillo Catches Fire on Friday
By Tim Letcher
Emiliano Grillo fired a stellar 63 on Friday to take the 36-hole lead at the Mayakoba Golf Classic. Now he must deal with being the hunted.
Emiliano Grillo was one of the players tied for second starting day two at the Mayakoba Golf Classic. But by the time the day was over, Grillo had done enough to not only take the lead, but to take a commanding lead.
On Thursday, Grillo shot a 5-under par 66 to trail first-round leader Russell Knox by one shot. But on Friday, Grillo took his game to another level.
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He started his day in style with a birdie at the par-4 first hole. He followed that with a birdie at the par-4 second hole
After a par on the third hole, Grillo birdied the par-3 fourth hole. That’s three birdies in four holes and Grillo was in the lead.
Grillo would par the fifth, sixth and seventh holes to remain at 3-under on his round. He finished the front nine the same way he started it, with consecutive birdies. That gave him a 5-under par 31 on his first nine.
There was only one blemish on Grillo’s card on Friday and that came on the 10th hole, where he bogeyed the par-3.
He would par the 11th hole before getting on his best birdie roll of the day. He birdied the par-4 12th, then the par-5 13th, then the par-4 14th hole. That got him to 7-under on his round.
Grillo would par the 15th and 16th holes before his final birdie of the round came at the par-4 17th hole. This one moved him to 8-under on his round. A par on the 18th finished his sparkling round of 8-under par 63.
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When play was halted due to darkness, the 28-year-old Grillo held a four-shot lead over Tony Finau and Tom Hoge. He will likely take that same lead into Saturday’s round.
Grillo has not been in this position often during his PGA Tour career. His only win on tour came at the 2016 Frys.com Open. He has three runner-up finishes in his career, with the last coming in 2019 when he was second at the CIMB Classic.