Emiliano Grillo‘s 2026 season has been a study in inconsistency. 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.

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.