Emiliano Grillo, tipped at 80/1 pre-tour by our expert Ben Coley, won his second PGA tour title after he edged out Adam Schenk in a double playoff hole while English golfer Harry Hall finished tied third in Texas on Sunday.
The Argentinian was two strokes clear and looked primed to take out the Charles Schwab Challenge at the Colonial Golf Course in Fort Worth.
But the 30-year-old hit a double-bogey on the last hole, providing an opening for Schenk to come back into contention, seeking to win his first PGA Tour title.
Grillo hit his drive into a small stream on the final hole which took the ball back 150 yards before stopping against a rock.
He decided to take a penalty stroke and landed a two-putt from 20 yards to tie with Schenk.
Schenk made par on the final hole while English PGA Tour rookie Harry Hall needed a par on the final hole to compete in the playoff.
Hall hit a bogey on the last hole after landing his drive into the water and finished tied in third with world number one American Scott Scheffler on 7-under.
Grillo struck a five-foot birdie putt to claim the title on the second playoff hole to get his first tour win in more than seven years, finishing the tournament on eight-under with 68 on his final day.
Grillo’s last win was in Napa in 2015 and has had four top 10 finishes this season.
American Adam Schenk finished second place for the second time this season and is still pushing for his first tour win.
Hall, 25, was leading after the first and second day but failed to hang on to the lead with two birdies and five bogeys on Sunday.
Englishmen Aaron Rei and Justin Rose finished tied 12th on three-under.
Grillo another big-priced winner for Life readers
Emiliano Grillo was one of six pre-tournament selection for our Ben Coley and here's what he wrote:
"We all know that since winning on his debut as a PGA Tour member Grillo's yet to double his tally and it was painful viewing when presented with a good chance at the John Deere Classic last summer, yet he does look very likely to give his running and at the prices I can take on board the Sunday question marks.
My view is that he'd have been a fair bit shorter had he come here on the back of his pre-PGA form figures of 7-5-23, all powered by world-class approach play as well as some really impressive short-game work in the Heritage.
I won't be dwelling too much on a major missed cut, especially as his pair of runner-up finishes last summer were separated by a weekend off at the Open Championship. Last week was a US Open-like test and Grillo's record in that event amounts to very little, so I'm not surprised he struggled.
Four top-25s from seven Colonial starts suggest we ought to expect better and as well as some consistently high-class ball-striking, he's enjoyed the best putting week of his career here and a couple more good ones. Another would have him in the mix and I'm reminded of the fact that Spieth once talked up Grillo's putting on fast greens, which he's demonstrated both here and at Muirfield Village."
Read Ben Coley's take on LIV Golf after the PGA
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