Grillo breaks through on the PGA Tour

Post by Sports Writer, Derek Clements 

PGA Tour

MOST of us who follow the European Tour will have heard of Emiliano Grillo, an unremarkable young Argentinian golfer who had his moments but never really looked like a golfer who was going to make much of an impression on world golf.

How wrong we all were. A couple of weeks ago, Grillo drained a 25-foot putt on the 18th green to win the Web.com Tour Championship, clinching his PGA Tour card in the process. Maybe there was something about Grillo that we had all missed.

Well yes, there most certainly was. Fresh from that win, Grillo arrived in California for the season-opening Frys.com Open, his first start on the PGA Tour. And guess what? He only went and won it. But, oh dear, did he do it the hard way. He stood on the final green needing to hole a three-foot putt to win in regulation play and missed it, bringing back awful memories of doing exactly the same thing earlier this year at the Puerto Rico Open - had he holed that putt, he would have immediately won his tour card.

So as he headed off to play the 18th again in a playoff with Kevin Na after both men had finished on 15 under par, would be draw on the memory of Puerto Rico or of his victory in the Web.com Tour Championship? Both men parred the hole the first time they played it and went back to the tee to do it all over again.  In the end, Grillo found his inspiration from his recent victory as he holed a 10-foot birdie putt to become the latest winner from Argentina.

Grillo and Na overhauled Brendan Steele, who had led from day one after a 63 but stumbled to a final round of 76. It was a day when several players had chances to win but came up short. Steele's chance went with early bogeys, while Justin Rose hit the front and seemed certain to finish the job off but hit too many uncharacteristically loose shots coming down the stretch. Jason Bohn's chances came and went, and Justin Thomas came up one short again. In total, nine players either led on their own or had a share of the lead on the final day. For Grillo, all that matters is that when the final putt was holed he was the one in front.

Hightlights of Grillo's maiden win on the PGA Tour

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gXBM8-uhGU

Apart from securing his card until the end of 2018, Grillo has also also secured an invitation to The Masters and will compete in the Players Championship.

European Tour

JUST 12 months ago, Andy Sullivan was simply another tour professional. Outside of his immediate circle of friends and family, nobody had heard of him. "Isn't he the guy who won the world snooker championship?" Erm no, that is Ronnie O'Sullivan. Ah, right then, he must be the guy who has a stake in West Ham United and publishes naughty magazines designed for the men's market. Sorry, but that is David Sullivan.

This morning there is no chance of anybody with even the slightest interest in golf not knowing who Andy Sullivan is - he is basking in the glory of becoming Portugal Masters champion. Incredibly, it is his third victory of the year, adding to his wins in the South African Open and Joburg Open. He is the only man on the European Tour to win three times this season.

So now, instead of worrying about holding on to his card, Sullivan, 28, has majors and world golf championship events on his schedule, and is daring to dream that he may make his Ryder Cup debut in 2016 as a member of Darren Clarke's European team.

His performance in Portugal was masterful, from first to last. He led the tournament from day one, was three ahead after 36 holes and five in front after three rounds. The only way he could lose was if he changed his philosophy and started to play defensively.

Instead he went out and shot a final round of 66 to win by an astonishing nine shots, with a winning total of  23 under par. He has now moved into the top 50 in the world rankings and has won three times in 23 tournaments, having gone without a victory in his previous 84 starts. The transformation has been extraordinary for the Englishman, who is one of the most popular players on tour.

He never gave the rest of the field a sniff of a chance, producing a flawless round that contained five birdies and not a single shot. Behind him there was a decent scrap, with Chris Wood continuing his recent fine run of form, finishing a distant second on 14 under, one ahead of Anthony Wall, Edoardo de la Riva and Trevor Fisher Jr.

"After the two wins in South Africa, I am thrilled to have landed this title in Europe," Sullivan said. "My mum and dad were here to watch, and that just made it extra special for me."