Emiliano Wins! Golf Gods Quickly Absolve Grillo

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Just two weeks after winning the Web.com Tour Championship and a day after nearly taking out Rory McIlroy with a tee shot, Emiliano Grillo won the Frys.com Open with a clutch 18th hole birdie putt, followed by a not so clutch 3-footer in a playoff with Kevin Na.

The short miss had more meaning than just your typical short miss. Doug Ferguson writes:

Seven months after he missed a 3-foot putt that cost him a victory in the Puerto Rico Open and a PGA TOUR card, Grillo stood over a 3-foot putt to win the Frys.com Open in a playoff Sunday and was shocked to see it spin out of the left side of the cup.

"It was a very tough time coming back to the tee," Grillo said.

Ferguson also notes that Grillo is part of an emerging group with ties to the high school graduating class of 2011.

Along with the trophy, he added to what is already known as the "Class of 2011" -- a high school graduating class that includes Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Patrick Rodgers, Ollie Schniederjans and Daniel Berger, who was voted PGA TOUR rookie of the year.

The final round highlights, including Na's drop kick disaster in the playoff. Regarding that shot, Ryan Lavner at GolfChannel.com had this in his game story from Napa.

Still alive, Na was in ideal position on the second playoff hole, 274 yards away on the right side of the fairway. With the ball slightly above his feet, Na opted for a driver off the tight turf, a shot that he “hit perfect” five or six times this week.

This one was far from perfect. He dropkicked the shot and sent his ball screaming into the left rough, behind a tree, about 100 yards out.

“I was a little shocked by that,” Grillo said.

Golf.com Q&A: Tiger's About To Open His Second Course

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Art Stricklin talks to Tiger Woods about his second original 18-hole design, Bluejack National, where of course it's playable for the average man and challenging for the elite player, etc...

But what is interesting: the extra amenity that every new course should build.

The entire development is focused on creating an atmosphere where the whole family can come together. We’ve taken this to heart in the design to create a course that will be enjoyable for all. The design has integrated a number of techniques to facilitate this – there is no rough, the fairways are generous, and the front of the greens are open and grassed with a greens grade quality grass to promote creative shot making. These qualities help to create a golf course where different levels of golfers can play at the same time for an overall enjoyable, fun experience. We’ve also created "The Playgrounds,” which is a 10-hole short course that is ideal for golfers of all ages and skill levels. The Playgrounds is going to be wonderful for families and entertaining friends, but I also see it as an ideal place to introduce new players to the game in a fun and relaxed setting.

Petco Park To Be Converted To 9-Hole Par-3 Course

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...for a few days anyway.

An unbylined AP story on the San Diego Padres offering fans a chance to play to Petco Park's field with Callaway clubs over the course of a November weekend.

From the AP story:

The Links at Petco Park will begin on a putting green in the home dugout. Golfers will move to the ballpark's upper deck for Nos. 2-5, where they will hit shots onto the field from various locations. The sixth will tee off on the field near the Western Metal Supply Co. building in the left field corner before golfers move to the batter's eye in center field for No. 7. The eighth hole will be a putting green in the bullpen. The final hole will be on the roof of the Western Metal Supply Co. Building.

Harold Varner Opens His Tour Card-Carrying Days With A 65

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Harold Varner III is the first black player to earn a PGA Tour card on the Web.com Tour and the most prominent of African American descent since Tiger Woods. While Varner has played PGA Tour events, opening with a 65 and T3 start at the Frys.com Open is still noteworthy.

Adam Schupak profiled Varner in this week's Golfweek.

To those who say the PGA Tour lacks color, meet rookie Harold Varner III, the first black player to earn a Tour card on the Web.com Tour. By virtue of finishing 25th on the regular-season money list, he joins Tiger Woods and doubles the number of blacks on Tour. But Varner, 25, said he was raised color blind and his stock response to such inquiries about golf and race is to declare that he doesn’t want to be the best black golfer; he just wants to be the best golfer.

“He doesn’t want to carry a torch,” said Bruce Sudderth, Varner’s teacher and golf pro emeritus at Gaston Country Club in Gastonia, N.C. “He just wants to be known as Harold.”

Bob Harig profiled Varner at the start of the season-opening week and included this:

Varner has never met Woods, who was committed to play the Frys.com Open until back surgery last month forced him to cancel all of his golf tournament plans for the rest of the year.

Varner expects to meet him at some point during his rookie year on tour, when his immediate  goals will be more about securing his playing privileges for another year than tackling golf's social issues. When the subject has come up in the past, Woods typically cited a lack of caddie programs and, of course, funding.