CBS Sports
Emiliano Grillo had every right to be upset on Sunday.
In a matter of minutes, he went from dominating the challenge of Charles Schwab, leading by two lengths, to tying for the lead and about to watch someone shoot to win the championship.
In case you haven’t seen it yet, Grillo blocked his tee shot on the 72nd right and into the downstream of his ball almost all the way to the tee. After spending several minutes deciding how to play his next shot – including considering running it off the stream – Grillo fell onto a cart track and eventually made a double bogey.
That dropped him to eight-under and tied with Harry Hole and Adam Schenck, who still had to play 18 at Colonial.
The playoff odds went from almost zero moments ago to almost certain, but both players could still make a birdie for the win outright.
Hall drove it into the pond to the left, but Schenk got his second on the green, giving him a slam dunk to win outright, while Hall had one to tie.
Usually in this case, the pros usually sign up to get their scorecard and then head to the practice area or stay back to watch if there is a playoff game. But Grillo wasn’t watching. It was on the first tee.
“I made a double,” Grillo said. “I basically gave up the championship, and it wasn’t up to me. It wasn’t in my hands. It was a moment where I needed to get my head out of that.”
He was able to hit balls off the tee there rather than the practice range, which is much further, between the third and fifth holes, because the course was ripped up on Monday to start the renewal by Gil Hansi.
However, Grillo wasn’t the only kicker.
The Argentine spotted two boys watching him and called them out. It took some ribbing from the pair, who were either timid or shocked, as a tour pro called them inside the ropes, by Grillo, but with the help of a security guard to lift him over a rail, they made their way to Grillo.
CBS cameras caught it all. But this wasn’t just a meet-and-greet, Grillo even let them hit some balls for him clubs. The same guys he was about to playoff with.
Turns out Grillo was reliving a moment from his childhood.
“I think it was a little trick to get my head out of the situation,” Grillo later said. “There are two kids next to the first tee, and I’m like, ‘Hey, do you want to hit balls?'” I hope – they’re 7 or 8 or whatever age they are. Jose Coceres did that with me when I was 7 or 8, and that was the greatest experience ever, just watching him hit his clubs. I kind of did that with them, and I hope they remember that “.
One of the boys was left-handed. Even when Grillo insisted it was fine for him to swing his right hand upside down, the boy went perpendicular and flushed the iron with a swing that would make Josh Broadway proud.
The spicy moment turned out to be exactly what Grillo needed.
Schenk missed a flying effort to force a playoff. On the first playoff hole, Grillo battled his Devils on the 18th hole from earlier, tying, then paring the 16th for the win.
Not only did Grillo clear his head in time for his second PGA Tour title, but he also gave these two kids a memory that could last a lifetime. Or at least until they win the PGA Tour, if history repeats itself.