Emiliano Grillo Daily Fantasy News, Rankings, Projections

Grillo has caused many headaches for DFS players over the last couple of years. His ball striking is second to none in this field, but he might be the worst putter on tour. This leads to a lot of made cuts and a lot of uninspiring finishes. We don't have any strokes gained data from the CJ Cup or the Zozo Championship, but he lost 21 strokes combined on the greens in his previous five events. Eventually, he has to run into a decent putting week. Even if he doesn't putt the lights out, he can still compete in a weaker field and on a course that he likes. He has played here three times and has never finished outside of the top 15. We've seen a lot of winners at this event come from the mid-range odds golfers, so I wouldn't mind if that happened again this week.

Grillo picked up his first and only career win at this event back in 2015. It was his rookie season and he started it off with a bang. In three appearances since, he has never missed a cut and has two top 30 finishes. I'm loading up on ball strikers this week and taking my chances with below-average putters in hopes that everything can line up just right. Grillo is ranked 11th in this field in strokes gained off the tee and first in strokes gained approach. Scrambling here has been fairly simple over the years, which could help Grillo since that's not the strongest part of his game. A T39 finish last week isn't going to jump off the page, but his ball striking was great. He lost 5.6 strokes putting, which is abysmal even for a bad putter. He seems to be comfortable on the poa greens in Napa, as he's gained over a stroke putting his four appearances combined.

I expect Grillo to be the highest owned golfer of the week. I’m not great at predicting ownership, but he’s hard to pass up at a price of only $7,900. He’s been in stellar form recently, making seven straight cuts with three top 30 finishes during that stretch. I like to play Grillo on ball striker’s courses that have bentgrass greens. TPC River Highlands is a perfect fit for Grillo, so it’s no surprise that he’s played so well here in the past. He’s made both of his cuts, highlighted by a T19 finish last season.

The positive momentum continues to build with Grillo, and the tee-to-green game remains as steady as ever. He gained around six strokes vs. the field from tee to green a week ago, and he was right around field average with the flat stick. That’s a positive development when you consider how poor his putter was over the first few months of 2019. He currently sits at 38th in par five scoring and 22nd in ball striking. Grillo is 3-for-3 making the cut here with a pair of top 25 finishes. It’s not the most likely outcome, but he has the ability to contend for a win at a very reasonable price point. I’ll load up once again.

Grillo nearly picked up a win here last season when he gained over 10 strokes putting on the field. I typically like to see strong tee to green performances from my golfers, but Grillo being comfortable on these greens certainly doesn't hurt. If we look at his recent ball striking, he has gained 5.2, 4.7, and 5.8 strokes on the field in his last three tournaments. He is good with his long irons and while he's not a great putter in general, he actually fares very well on bentgrass greens. He's on record saying he loves this course and that clearly checks out when we look at his course history.

When you factor in salary, Grillo is definitely one of my favorite options this week. He absolutely loves this golf course, and his finishes have gotten better each of the three times he has teed it up here (55th, 24th, 3rd). He ranks 11th on Tour in strokes gained on approach, and it all comes down to whether or not he can hold his own with the flat stick. Despite his up and down season, he still has just one missed cut in 14 starts, and his results are trending in the right direction. The tee to green ability has never been in doubt with Grillo, and the form is trending positively. There’s winning upside here. I’m on board in all formats.

If you like good players that have really been struggling with the putter, this pick is for you! There is no doubt that the flat stick has been absolutely abysmal for Grillo so far this year, and the masses are starting to get annoyed with him. All we need is for him to be respectable with that club in order to make him a contender, and hopefully he can get back on track at Sawgrass. The other positives are there. Grillo still ranks 8th on Tour in strokes gained on approach this season, he ranks 9th in ball striking, he now comes a lot cheaper than we have seen in the past, and he’s made his last two cuts at this event. I like the bounce back potential in GPP formats.