Whether or not Emiliano Grillo is familiar with the adage that it’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey, he lived it Sunday in his playoff victory over Adam Schenk in the Charles Schwab Challenge.
More than seven years after his only previous PGA Tour victory, Grillo shook off a double bogey on the 72nd hole at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, to beat Schenk with a birdie on the second extra hole. They tied at 8-under 272.
“It’s been such a ride, obviously,” said Grillo, who won the 2015 Frys.com Open and has finished outside the top 70 in FedEx Cup points only once since then.
Grillo started the final round four strokes behind Schenk and Harry Hall, but found himself two ahead before things went sideways on the par-4 18th hole. His tee shot there flared to the right and wound up in an aqueduct, forcing him to take a penalty stroke.
Unable to reach the green with his third, Grillo was left to wonder whether he had thrown the tournament away with his closing double bogey as Schenk and Hall stepped to the tee at the 72nd hole tied with him.
While Grillo waited for the final pairing to finish – Hall lost his chance to be in the playoff when he hit his drive into the water at No. 18 – Grillo invited two youngsters to hit a few balls with him as he stayed loose.
Getting a good bounce off a greenside slope on the second extra hole, Grillo made sure he didn’t let another opportunity escape after Schenk hit a brilliant pitch shot to set up a par.
“I made a double today on 18, and I honestly didn’t care,” said Grillo, 30, a native of Argentina.
“Obviously it's great. It made everything worth it. The playing, all the hours practicing, the effort from my family. It makes you think when you started playing all the emotions come through your head.
“It's been tough, but it’s worth every second. People ask me if I would have done something different. Obviously, looking back, I wouldn't. This is just worth it.”
For Schenk, it was the second near-miss this year as he chases his first PGA Tour victory. In March, Schenk finished second to Taylor Moore by one stroke at the Valspar Championship.
“(Grillo) deserved to win, in my opinion, just because – he doubled the last hole. How many times out of a hundred is he going to do that? One, maybe? Two?” Schenk said.
“That would have left a pretty sour taste in his mouth to do that and lose. Then for him to hit the shot on 16, he probably deserved it a little more than I did.”
Hall, a PGA Tour rookie from England, shot 62 in the opening round and flirted with a breakthrough victory until pulling his drive into the water on the 72nd hole.
“I learned a lot, and you don’t have to play great golf to win on a hard golf course coming down the stretch,” Hall said. “You’ve just got to hit it in the middle of the green and not do anything stupid. I did a few stupid things today.”
Ron Green Jr.