The PGA Tour’s Best Pound-for-Pound Driver is a Rookie Who Weighs 141 Pounds
Tuesday, May 10, 2016
Emiliano Grillo is the lightest active golfer on the PGA Tour. He doesn't employ a swing coach. And yet, according to data collected by PointAfter, the 23-year-old from Argentina has established himself as the strongest pound-for-pound driver during his first year on the American circuit.
By most standards, Grillo's first PGA season has been a rousing success.
He claimed victory in his first tour event in October, the Frys.com Open. He even exorcised some old demons in doing so, recovering from a missed 3-foot putt on the first playoff hole to defeat veteran Kevin Na on the second playoff hole. Earlier in 2015, Grillo had a chance to qualify for the PGA Tour by winning the Puerto Rico Open, but missed the clinching 3-foot putt and went on to lose in a sudden-death playoff.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST"It was the same type of putt I had in Puerto Rico, only I hit this one good," he told ESPN at the time. "I don't know what happened."
Grillo is exceedingly easy to root for. Hours after achieving his massive breakthrough, he was spotted in an airport preparing for a flight to his next event. Grillo made sure to keep his first professional championship trophy within arm's length.
Asi viaja un PGA tour champ!! That's how a PGA tour champion travels #jetblue takes us to Vegas @GrilloEmiliano pic.twitter.com/8MluHi9XnZ
— jose luis campra (@pepacampra) October 19, 2015
Does that look like a guy who just added more than $1 million to his tour winnings?
Though Grillo hasn't been able to add to his trophy collection again this season, his first win qualified him for the 2016 Masters and the PGA Championship in July. He collected his second-best tour finish in Augusta last month, adding $145,000 to his annual winnings after tying for 17th.
Before he got down to official business at his first major competition, however, Grillo played in a practice round with fellow countryman and former Masters champion Angel Cabrera, and also took some time to play alongside his wife in the Masters Par 3 Contest.
Grillo hasn't quite achieved the same national profile as some other golfers of the "Class of 2011" — a high school graduating class that includes Jordan Speith, Justin Thomas and Daniel Berger, the reigning PGA Tour Rookie of the Year. But as the 39th-ranked player in the world, "Emili" already ranks ahead of Berger (47th) and is just behind Thomas (37th).
If Grillo sustains his excellent driving — he's currently 12th in driving accuracy at 70.9 percent, in addition to his top pound-for-pound distance ranking — and improves his sometimes-shaky putting, the Argentinian could soon be one of the sport's household names. How could golf fans not appreciate the lightest man on tour riding a power-driving game to the sport's summit?
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