Emiliano Grillo matches Summit course record with final-round 61
Emiliano Grillo matched The Summit Club course record Sunday, shooting 11-under 61 to rocket up the leaderboard 38 spots and finish the CJ Cup at 18 under.
Grillo played the final six holes in 7 under, making eagles on both the 14th and 18th holes to go with birdies on Nos. 13, 16 and 17. He also birdied Nos. 3, 4, 5 and 8 on the front.
Unlike the rest of the week, Grillo said he was finally able to make some putts, which made his strategy pretty straightforward.
“Fire at the green, make the putt,” he said. “It’s very simple.”
His score matches the official course record set Thursday by Robert Streb, although Maverick McNealy had also shot 61 at The Summit during a practice round.
Spectacular finish
Talor Gooch briefly shared the lead after completing a 62 while the other leaders were still on the front nine. He finished at 21 under, ultimately good for a tie for fifth, and he did it in dramatic fashion.
After driving into a fairway bunker and laying up with his second shot on the 18th, Gooch hit a wedge 94 yards and into the cup for a hole-out eagle finish.
“It was a good wedge number and I was hitting it close all day,” he said. “So that was — it was a perfect number, perfect shot, and it’s nice when it comes together like that.”
Ancer has the answer
If Abraham Ancer could play the 14th hole at The Summit Club all the time, he’d be unbeatable.
Ancer played the par 5 in 7 under over the final three rounds, making a rare albatross on Friday, then eagle on both Saturday and Sunday.
English withdraws
Harris English withdrew during the final round when he tweaked his back on the ninth hole.
English was 7 under for the tournament and even par on his round when he reached the ninth hole. He drove it in the right rough, then made an awkward swing and advanced the ball only 90 yards into the native area when he stopped.
Staying hot
Two players who came into the week on a roll continued to play well at the CJ Cup.
Sungjae Im, the winner last week at the Shriners Children’s Open, had a final-round 64 to finish at 20 under and a tie for ninth.
Sam Burns, who has won twice in the past five months and leads the early-season FedEx standings, finished in a tie for fifth at 21 under.
Rough week
Charl Schwartzel must be wondering what course everyone else was playing this week. The former Masters champ was the only player to finish over par, and it wasn’t close.
In fact, Schwartzel never broke par for the week, shooting even-par 72 on both Thursday and Friday before weekend rounds of 76 and 75 to finish at 7 over.
Greg Robertson covers golf for the Review-Journal. He can be reached at grobertson@reviewjournal.com.