THE MODERATOR: We'd like to welcome Emiliano Grillo to the Sanderson Farms Championship. A good tournament here last year, top-5 finish after a suspect first round, I guess, but just talk about coming back to this tournament where you've had good form.
EMILIANO GRILLO: Yeah, I don't remember much about the first few rounds. I remember having a chance going into the final nine holes. I started good with a birdie on 10 and 11, then missed a short putt on 12, and then a big number on 14 and I was able to -- like you said, top 5, it was a solid week and probably the start of a really good season.
Yeah, I'm right in between seasons. My season was over a couple weeks ago, but had five weeks, and I'm ready to go again.
Q. You mentioned probably the start of a really good season. It was a good season. You made it to the TOUR Championship, which is pretty much a goal for everybody at the start. But you also finished top 10 in the Open Championship, and I think that was your first top 10 in a major. What do you put it down to? Is it just getting more maturity or have you been doing things with your game to get to this level now?
EMILIANO GRILLO: Yeah, I mean, you're always looking at your stats, where you need to work. My putting was definitely an area that needed a lot of work.
Derek, my coach, my putting coach, we've been doing great work for the last three, four years, and it's starting to be solid every week, not just one week here and there.
I would like to say it's the solid part of my game, but I don't want to say that out loud until I make sure of it. But it's definitely an area of my game that I look forward to not only playing but practicing, which before it was like an area that I was mostly scared because I didn't know where to begin, where to practice, what to practice, and now it's an area that I actually look forward to.
That was key for the last year or two. I know that when I play well tee to green, it turns into a solid week.
Q. How many tournaments do you plan on playing through this Fall Series and seeking another victory?
EMILIANO GRILLO: I mean, as of now, I'm playing the next three, here, Vegas and ZOZO, then if I can take my family down to Cabo, then I'll play Cabo, too. I've been there before, so I kind of know what to expect. It's a lovely place.
Q. Do you feel like that's an advantage having seen that golf course?
EMILIANO GRILLO: I haven't seen the golf course, just a coincidence I went there for a little holiday and then I found out that that's where the tournament was going to be hosted. So it was a plus.
Q. Winning the Charles Schwab at the Colonial and part of that is you get a vehicle, and this year it was a Ford Bronco and you were just saying you've been driving it a fair bit. Do you have any interesting stories about that?
EMILIANO GRILLO: Yeah, I was just telling you, sometimes you will go and I will go for groceries and somebody will leave a note in the car. I've actually had two notes already, and it's kind of cool. It was definitely something that I totally forgot about it when I was playing, and then when I won, I realized, hey, like I'm getting the car. I'm not a huge car fan, but now that I have that, I'm really a fan.
Q. Do you feel like you're attracting a little bit of attention?
EMILIANO GRILLO: Yeah, yeah, definitely. Some people ask me, hey, you should bring to your car to a car show. There in San Diego there's a car show every weekend in Rancho Santa Fe. They've been asking me to bring it and people saying that it would get a lot of attention. I haven't done it yet. Maybe next week I will drive it around and see what they say.
Q. We had Mackenzie Hughes in here yesterday. He's the defending champion of this tournament, but he spoke pretty passionately about the Presidents Cup, which is in less than a year, and being Canadian and it's in Canada. I know you've played on one of those teams. How much is it in the back of your mind to make that team again and represent the internationals?
EMILIANO GRILLO: Yeah, it's definitely -- obviously we're still in 2023, but I would say if I had to write down my goals for next season, it would definitely be up there. Presidents Cup, Olympics, winning again, TOUR Championship, and then some stats that I want to achieve.
I always have them. I write them down. I have them present all the time.
But also, at the same time, what is it, October next year, so still a year, a lot of golf to be played. But yes, definitely a place that I want to be at. I want to be part of that winning team for sure.
Q. Finally from me, how do you feel your game is trending coming into this week?
EMILIANO GRILLO: I have no idea. Five weeks off, played for the first time on Friday and Sunday and practiced yesterday as much as I could, and now I'm going to go practice. So if you don't have any questions, I'm just going to go work on my game.
Q. Is that a strange feeling coming into a tournament with a little bit of unknown.
EMILIANO GRILLO: No, I've done five, I've done -- last year I've done eight. Obviously it's not ideal, but you need the time off. You need time away. I have a little kid, and I want to spend as much time as I can with them. I went to Europe, went on a cruise, concerts. I tried to do everything I could.
Q. Who did you go see?
EMILIANO GRILLO: Coldplay and Guns N' Roses.
Q. Which was best?
EMILIANO GRILLO: Different. One is a pure rock band. Your ears just explode after -- Slash is awesome, just seeing the band, and then obviously Coldplay, they put on a phenomenal show. It's two different things. I would say if I had to go again, it would probably be Coldplay.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports