It was hard for Emiliano Grillo to miss. There are televisions in the locker room and the dining room. So before he teed off in the ninth pairing in Saturday’s third round of the U.S. Open, he was already aware of the damage that Shinnecock Hills Golf Club — and its wind and firm greens — had done.
He saw Dylan Wu record an 8 on the first hole after four-putting. He saw Chris Gotterup step back from his ball and watch it roll away. Then, Grillo went out and became one of the first golfers to conquer the new-look Shinnecock, ripping off four birdies in a row to close the front nine and play himself into contention for the final round Sunday.
Grillo — who shot a 3-under 67 — is seven shots behind leader Wyndham Clark in a tie for sixth and was one of only two golfers to shoot under par Saturday. And for the 33-year-old Argentine, who has won two PGA Tour events — with his last in 2023 — and has finished in the top 10 in a major just once, it’ll give him at least a chance heading into Sunday.
“You kind of know what you’re going to find out there, and it’s kind of nice seeing that on TV before going out,” Grillo said. “That always helps.”
But don’t ask Grillo about the U.S. Open in 2018, when he shot a 76 and 73 to finish 9 over and miss the cut by a stroke. It was a blur and he “hated every minute of it.” Eight years later, though, he built on his even-par round Friday and started to make his move on the sixth hole.
Grillo hit what he described as the “shot of the year” with his second shot at the hole, going from 212 yards to within 2 feet of the pin.
Then, he followed with birdie putts of just under 8 feet, just over 18 feet and just under 25 feet to keep climbing the leaderboard.
It might be tough to catch Clark. It might be tough to move past some of the others ahead of him.
Grillo is the first to admit that it’s tough to beat some of those golfers, that it takes someone being on top of their game and then getting lucky.
After winning the Frys.com Open to start the 2015-16 slate, it took Grillo another eight years to win his next PGA Tour event. The 2023 British Open — when he tied for sixth — still serves as his best performance in a major.
But anchored by the four birdies Saturday, he’ll have a chance to change that.
“Obviously when you stand on the 10th tee with 4 under par in the U.S. Open,” Grillo said, “you’re just rushing to get it done and finish it. … 3 under par or any under par in a U.S. Open, you’d always take it.”
