After shocking bunker tantrum, Olympic contender tumbles down leaderboard

Emiliano Grillo got off to a dream start in his second Olympic Games on Thursday. But on Friday, the tide turned on Grillo, culminating in a bunker tirade that sent him tumbling down the leaderboard.

The longtime PGA Tour pro is Argentina’s best hope at a men’s Olympic Golf medal, and he shouldered that weight impressively in the opening round at Le Golf National, shooting a five-under 66 to get within three shots of Hideki Matsuyama’s early lead.

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At the start of Friday’s second round, Grillo displayed fine form once again, going one under through his first eight holes to reach six under for the tournament, putting him right up among the leaders.

But at the 9th hole, Grillo showed his first sign of cracking, where he missed a 2’11” putt to make a bogey 6. At the ensuing hole, the two-time PGA Tour winner lost his cool completely.

Grillo left his approach shot at the par-4 10th in a front greenside bunker. Facing a tricky shot with little room to work with between him and the pin, Grillo sent his bunker shot sailing 30 feet beyond the hole. That’s when his frustration got the best of him as he slammed his wedge into the bunker three times, then kicked sand out of the trap to finish off the performance.

The thumps from Grillo’s bunker pummeling, which was reminiscent of Sergio Garcia’s 2019 bunker meltdown, could be heard on the Golf Channel broadcast, and a TV analyst who witnessed the moment live remarked, “Man, that sand is feeling the brunt of Grillo’s anger.”

Watch the moment below.

It was a sight that may not be all that rare at your local muni, but one that is quite rare in the pro ranks.

And as often happens, it didn’t help Grillo’s score. He made bogey at 10, then followed it with three consecutive bogeys at 12, 13 and 14 to fall well off the pace of the leaders.

Grillo has his work cut out for him if he hopes to get back into medal position for the weekend rounds.

Kevin Cunningham

Golf.com Editor

As managing producer for GOLF.com, Cunningham edits, writes and publishes stories on GOLF.com, and manages the brand’s e-newsletters, which reach more than 1.4 million subscribers each month. A former two-time intern, he also helps keep GOLF.com humming outside the news-breaking stories and service content provided by our reporters and writers, and works with the tech team in the development of new products and innovative ways to deliver an engaging site to our audience.