Imago
LA JOLLA, CA – JANUARY 30: Emiliano Grillo tees off on the North course fifth hole during the second round of the Farmers Insurance Open on January 30, 2026, at Torrey Pines Golf Course in La Jolla, CA. Photo by Karl Anderson/Icon Sportswire GOLF: JAN 30 PGA, Golf Herren Farmers Insurance Open EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon272260130087
Imago
LA JOLLA, CA – JANUARY 30: Emiliano Grillo tees off on the North course fifth hole during the second round of the Farmers Insurance Open on January 30, 2026, at Torrey Pines Golf Course in La Jolla, CA. Photo by Karl Anderson/Icon Sportswire GOLF: JAN 30 PGA, Golf Herren Farmers Insurance Open EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon272260130087
Emiliano Grillo‘s 2026 season has been a study in inconsistency with four missed cuts in his first six starts, including an opening-round 84 at THE PLAYERS Championship that ended his week before the weekend arrived. Grillo arrived at the 2026 U.S. Open off the best finish of his season, a T20 at the RBC Canadian Open, sitting 123rd in the FedExCup standings. At Shinnecock Hills, he answered with a third-round 67, including four consecutive birdies across holes 6 through 9.
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Who Is Emiliano Grillo?
Hector Emiliano Grillo was born on September 14, 1992, in Resistencia, Argentina. He represents his country internationally and competes full-time on the PGA Tour, where he has won twice. Grillo turned professional in 2011 and has built a career that includes a Rookie of the Year title and a place in the sport’s celebrated Class of 2011. He stands today as one of Argentina’s most accomplished golfers of the modern era, a status his 2026 U.S. Open week only reinforced.
Grillo grew up in Resistencia, in Argentina’s Chaco province, and learned the game at Chaco Golf Club. He picked up his first club at age 5, splitting his early athletic energy between golf and basketball before golf won out. The junior results followed. Grillo reached the quarterfinals of the 2008 U.S. Junior Amateur, then won the Byron Nelson International Junior Golf Award in 2009. There is no verified record of college golf in his story. At 16, he left Argentina for IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, to chase a level of competition Resistencia couldn’t offer.
Off the course, Grillo’s life centers on his partner, Alexia Garcia Morris, and their son, Andre. Alexia, also from Resistencia, became publicly linked to Grillo in October 2020. The couple lives together with Andre in San Diego, California, where Grillo is based. Andre has appeared alongside his parents at PGA Tour events, including the Masters Par-3 Contest at Augusta National.
Reuters
Golf – The Masters – Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, Georgia, U.S. – April 10, 2024 Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo holds his son, Andre, alongside his partner, Alexia Garcia Morris, during the par 3 contest REUTERS/Brian Snyder
Emiliano Grillo’s early golf career
Grillo turned professional in 2011, the same year he earned his European Tour card through Q-School, and within a few seasons, he had established himself as one of golf’s leading international prospects. He also came from the same generation that produced Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas. His early amateur success laid the groundwork for the transition to the professional game, and the breakthrough came at the 2015 Frys.com Open, where Grillo beat Kevin Na in a playoff to win his first PGA Tour title as a rookie.
That season, he was named PGA Tour Rookie of the Year, and then he went on to win the 2015 Web.com Tour Championship. Since gaining his Tour card, he has consistently ranked in the Top 100 of the FedEx Cup standings year-on-year. After those wins, Grillo had to wait another eight years before his second win, which came at the 2023 Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club, and the same year, he had his best major finish, a T6 at the Open Championship. Another marker of his early promise showed up when his world ranking peaked at No. 23 on November 13, 2016.
Grillo’s golfing roots trace back to one place: Chaco. Grillo grew up learning the game at the same course, Chaco Golf Club, that also produced Jose Coceres and Fabian Gomez, with Gomez having said Coceres inspired both him and Grillo, proof that a golfer from that part of Argentina could make it on tour. Grillo has kept his immediate family largely out of the spotlight, but he has spoken of having twin older sisters, Carolina and Roseana, and has described himself as the youngest in the family. When he left for IMG Academy at 16, no family member made that move with him.
Grillo’s road from Resistencia to the PGA Tour has been long and largely self-made. Two PGA Tour wins and a career T6 at a major are the headline numbers. A third-round 67 at the 2026 U.S. Open is the latest reminder that he remains a fixture on golf’s biggest stages.
