Emiliano Grillo did not change the headline of this U.S. Open, but he did change the texture of Sunday at Shinnecock Hills.
Wyndham Clark still owns the championship after 54 holes. Scottie Scheffler still gives the final pairing its obvious electricity. But Grillo’s third-round 67, the best score of a bruising Saturday and one of only two under-par rounds on the day, has given the final round something every major Sunday needs: a player who has already proved he can move while almost everyone else is hanging on.
The official USGA third-round report had Grillo jumping from a share of 46th into a tie for sixth at level par, seven behind Clark. That is still a huge gap. It is also not nothing at a course where the third-round scoring average climbed above 73 and only four players finished Saturday under par for the championship.
Grillo Found A Score When Shinnecock Was Taking Them Away
The reason Grillo’s 67 matters is not because it puts him in the most likely winning position. It is because it was produced on a day when Shinnecock was stripping ambition out of the field.
Clark’s even-par 70 was excellent front-running golf. Scheffler’s 69 was a reminder that the world No. 1 is still the most dangerous chaser in the game. Grillo’s 67 was different. It came from outside the main spotlight, and it came with the kind of early birdie run that tells the chasing pack a number is at least possible if the player is brave enough and precise enough to find it.
According to the USGA, Grillo made four birdies on the front nine and stood on the 10th tee four under for the round. He later admitted the wind did not ease as he expected, saying it “never slowed down”. That is the point. He did not get a soft Shinnecock. He found a way through the hard one.
That should matter to anyone following Wyndham Clark’s record-money Sunday, because Clark’s lead is big enough to look almost finished until the golf course says otherwise.
The Chase Is Still About Clark And Scheffler
None of this makes Grillo the central figure. Clark is six clear. Scheffler, Sahith Theegala, Tom Kim and Sam Stevens are all at one under. Xander Schauffele, Keith Mitchell, Sam Burns and Grillo are at level par. Sunday’s first question remains whether Clark can keep his rhythm while playing alongside Scheffler, whose last shot at Clark in UK prime time still carries the career Grand Slam weight.
But Grillo’s role is valuable precisely because he does not have to manage the final-pairing theatre. He can go before the leaders, post something awkward, and make Shinnecock feel less like a two-man stage. At a normal major, seven shots is too many. At Shinnecock, the number is still too many on paper, but the course has already shown it can turn a calm stretch into a survival exercise.
The Argentine also has the benefit of fresh evidence. He knows what his ball flight, patience and approach play looked like on a day when so many contenders went the other way. That is not the same as having a realistic winning chance, but it is exactly the kind of confidence that can turn a top-10 run into something more uncomfortable for those above him.
A Sunday Wildcard, Not A Fantasy Winner
The sensible reading is still that this championship belongs to Clark unless he gives it back. ReadGolf has already looked at how Shinnecock Sunday has become a nerve test, and that remains the truest frame for the final round.
Grillo’s 67 does not overthrow that. It sharpens it. If Clark plays cleanly, the rest are probably fighting for places. If Clark stumbles early, though, the pressure will not come only from Scheffler in the same group. It can come from a number on a board, from a player who has already shown he can make birdies while Shinnecock is making bogeys feel inevitable.
That is why Grillo has become worth watching. Not as the favourite, not as the tidy storyline, but as the dangerous Sunday wildcard who can make the final round feel less settled than the leaderboard says it should.
