THE MODERATOR: We would like to welcome our defending champion Emiliano Grillo to the interview room here at the Charles Schwab Challenge. Welcome back to Fort Worth. Just some overall thoughts being back here.
EMILIANO GRILLO: Yeah, I'm excited. I'm looking forward to seeing the new golf course. It's been a great year. Obviously it all started a few weeks before this tournament. Yeah, it's been nice driving the Bronco and kind of nice seeing all the people that I saw last year welcoming me back, the new locker room, the jacket, everything. So this has always been one of my favorite events and now more than ever.
THE MODERATOR: What is it like just being back here? Last year was a thrilling finish, you won in a playoff and now seeing this new course renovation, have you had a chance to get out there yet?
EMILIANO GRILLO: No, I'm seeing it for the first time now and I'm excited to go and see it.
THE MODERATOR: What does it mean to you to see the support that you've had, just even from Argentina and everything like that, since that win, because that was your second win on TOUR.
EMILIANO GRILLO: Yeah, I kind of forgot what it was like winning and all the people, you know, all my family, friends, people that I know that were so excited. I think some people was even more excited than I was. I thought I was excited, but, you know, that shows you the friendships that I've made through the years. So it's kind of nice.
I would say the best part is just seeing the players also feeling really happy for me and that kind of put perspective of how hard it is to win out here, how hard it is to, having the chance of winning a tournament and everybody gets like happy when you get it done and because everybody knows how hard, how much time we have to put into this and all the effort. So it's kind of nice.
THE MODERATOR: You have two top 10s this season. Just kind of assess where your game is right now.
EMILIANO GRILLO: Not where I want it to be. I'm working really hard on it. I wish I could say different right now. The last month and a half or so it's been tough, but this is golf, everybody knows this. You can't always play good. When you don't, you just have to keep grinding, keep, get through the storm, and enjoy the sunny days more than ever.
THE MODERATOR: We'll open it up.
Q. When you come back to a place where you've won, does that make it easier to play again or does it add pressure?
EMILIANO GRILLO: Well, I don't know, I haven't, it's been eight years since did I that, so this is a place I love. I don't see why it should be any different. Obviously, it's a new golf course, maybe it doesn't suit my game as it used to, but I don't know, I will know that more on Thursday and Friday when I get to play more in competition.
Obviously, the greens are going to be new, they're going to be hard. If we get some rain like it's expected it's going to be playing a little bit longer, and with harder greens, so that's a tough combination. New reads, new contours, new everything, so I got to go out today and do my homework and pretend it's a place I've never played. I'm assuming most of the lines will be the same, it will be just playing different on the second shots and around the greens. So I got to go out and do my homework and, like I said, I haven't been playing well, so I got to keep grinding and get out of the hole.
Q. We took you out to the wall and you got to see your name for the first time on the wall. I know that means a lot to you. Talk about why it means so much to you to have your name on that wall.
EMILIANO GRILLO: I mean, this is a tournament I've been coming here for nine years now. Every time you tee it off on the first tee you see the wall and you see all the names and you want to add your name to it. Everybody knows, you know, it was almost 50 years ago or no, 70 years ago, wow, when Mr. Roberto De Vicenzo won. So just putting my name there and now I get to tee it off on the first tee and see my name, that's kind of cool, if you ask me. So, yeah, it's a special place to me and now more special.
Q. Is that something that you would count as a career accomplishment, having your name associated with Roberto directly?
EMILIANO GRILLO: I mean, you cannot try to do it every week. You want to put your name on every trophy and every tournament. Everybody gets super happy when you get a course record somewhere. I mean, you get into the books, that's something that every golfer out here on TOUR they aspire to. So hopefully I can get it back-to-back. So that's the plan at least.
THE MODERATOR: All right, thank you, Emiliano.
EMILIANO GRILLO: Awesome. Thank you.
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