Emiliano Grillo wins playoff at Colonial for long-awaited second title

May 29, 2023 at 9:28 AM
Emiliano Grillo wins playoff at Colonial for long-awaited second title

Emiliano Grillo of Argentina survived a memorable double bogey on his 72nd gap and beat Adam Schenk on the second playoff gap to win the Charles Schwab Challenge on Sunday in Fort Worth, Texas.

Grillo captured his second profession PGA Tour victory – which got here seven years and 7 months after his first, in October 2015.

“They say second is harder than the first, and it definitely was,” Grillo mentioned on the CBS broadcast. “I’m on top of the world right now.”

After Grillo and Schenk re-played the par-four 18th gap and every made par, they headed to the par-three sixteenth at Colonial Country Club. Grillo’s tee shot rolled to inside 5 ft, and Schenk flew his ball over the inexperienced.

Schenk made Grillo work for it when he performed his second shot to 2 1/2 ft of the pin. But Grillo’s left-to-right birdie putt was by no means unsure.

Grillo shot a final-round 68 and Schenk had a 72 for them to each wind up at eight-under 272, although Grillo owned a two-stroke lead when he hit his tee shot at No. 18.

The shot flew far proper and wound up in a stream of water within the middle of a footpath. According to the CBS broadcast, the water carried the ball roughly 100 yards again within the route of the tee field earlier than a small rock introduced it to relaxation. Grillo took a penalty stroke and dropped his ball onto the trail the place the ball entered the stream.

He reached the inexperienced in 4 and two-putted.

“Today I made a double on 18 and honestly I didn’t care,” Grillo mentioned about his perspective. “Obviously, I would have liked to get it on the 72nd, but to close with some great swings, great swings there on 18, two great birdies on 16.”

Grillo had a busy entrance 9, making 4 birdies and two bogeys as he began to claw towards the highest. He added birdies at Nos. 12 and 16 – the latter on a putt of practically 20 ft – to hit 10 underneath earlier than his adventurous double bogey.

Schenk, who went 66-67-67 to start out the event, posted three bogeys by means of his first 13 holes and landed his solely birdie of the day on the par-three sixteenth. His shot there landed quick and to the suitable however bounced onto the inexperienced, caught a slope and rolled to eight ft, the place he made the birdie putt that in the end obtained him into the playoff.

Harry Hall of England, who held no less than a share of the lead after every of the primary three rounds, birdied his first two holes of the day earlier than carding 5 bogeys for a final-round 73. He was tied with Schenk and Grillo at eight-under stepping to the 18th tee, however his drive sailed left and right into a water hazard.

The 25-year-old PGA Tour rookie bogeyed and settled for a tie for third at seven-under with World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, whose 67 featured the second hole-in-one of his PGA Tour profession. At the par-3 eighth gap, he took goal on the pin and watched his ball take just a few hops and roll straight in.

“Just a three-quarter 7-iron,” Scheffler mentioned. “Pretty much the exact same shot I hit there (Saturday). Tee box was a little further up, and there was a little bit more wind in our face, so it kind of set up nicely. … That was definitely a lot of fun.”

Paul Haley II (final-round 67) positioned fifth at 6 underneath. Rickie Fowler additionally shot a 67 and tied for sixth at five-under with Michael Kim (67) and defending champion Sam Burns (68). Max Homa (69), Mark Hubbard (69) and Kevin Streelman (71) tied for ninth at 4 underneath.