‘You talk about the nerves kicking in’: Pro torpedoes at Sanderson Farms 

He fist-pumped. Held it for a good two seconds, too. 

No, Emiliano Grillo hadn’t lost his sense of humor, though he had coughed up a shot at the Sanderson Farms Championship. 

“I’m speechless,” analyst Jim Gallagher Jr. said on the Golf Channel broadcast.  

“Yikes,” announcer Steve Sands said.  

“Oh, man. You feel for him,” Gallagher said. 

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Indeed. All of that. In a wild swing at the Country Club of Jackson, Grillo went from tied for the lead on the back nine during Sunday’s final round, to down five in just one hole. Four shots did him in, from 86 yards away, on the week’s second-easiest hole. 

Shot one, and third stroke overall. Standing on the tee on the 590-yard, par-5 14th, and in a four-way tie for the lead, Grillo hit a drive into the right rough, and a second shot along the right side, also in the sticky Bermuda. From there, Grillo plugged his ball into the right greenside bunker, on the upslope, 84 feet from the pin. He had hit it a bit fat. It was also about this point where Mackenzie Hughes, the eventual winner, pulled ahead of the pack by a shot. 

“He mishit it,” analyst Curt Byrum said on the broadcast, of Grillo. 

Shot two, and fourth overall. On that bunker upslope, with his ball plugged, and his left leg on the grass above the bunker and his right leg in the sand, Grillo could manage only to pop his ball out. Sand hit him in the face. He stepped back. His ball trickled out and rolled down the slope to the right of the green.      

“Ooh, boy, look at that lie,” Gallagher said on the broadcast, ahead of the swing.

Shot three, and fifth overall. From 76 feet away, Grillo tested the lie with four practice swings.

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“This is pretty straightforward,” Byrum said on the broadcast. “Looks like the lie is really good. He’s got enough green to work with there that if he hits this the way he wants to, it shouldn’t be a problem.” 

“Bogey or double bogey here could be taking him out of the championship,” Sands said. “Needs to be careful with this one.” 

Grillo sent a low dart across the green and off it.  

“Wow,” Byrum said on the broadcast.   

“We don’t see that very often,” Sands said.  

“You talk about the nerves kicking in, 100 percent right there,” Byrum said.  

Shot four, and sixth overall. From 42 feet away, and now behind the green and to the left of it, Grillo pitched short. 

“That is scary,” Sands said on the broadcast. 

Shot five, and seventh overall. From the fringe, and 23 feet away, Grillo putted. 

“That is not a mistake at the top of your screen,” Sands said on the broadcast. “Yes, this is for seven.” 

“Not done yet,” Byrum said.  

“No, he’s not,” Sands said. 

Grillo burned the right edge of the hole, and his ball finished six feet past. 

Shot six, and eighth overall. In. Triple-bogey eight. Notably, Grillo finished four shots behind Hughes and Sepp Straka, who played a two-hole playoff. 

Still, Grillo fist-pumped. Held it for a good two seconds, too. 

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Nick Piastowski

Golf.com Editor

Nick Piastowski is a Senior Editor at Golf.com and Golf Magazine. In his role, he is responsible for editing, writing and developing stories across the golf space. And when he’s not writing about ways to hit the golf ball farther and straighter, the Milwaukee native is probably playing the game, hitting the ball left, right and short, and drinking a cold beer to wash away his score. You can reach out to him about any of these topics — his stories, his game or his beers — at nick.piastowski@golf.com.

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