Frys.com Open Recap: Another Young Gun Breaks Through

Which brings us to Silverado Country Club in Napa, Calif., where none other than Johnny Miller was on hand for the start of the 2015-16 PGA Tour season. (OK, so Miller is part owner of the club and may have just stopped by to check whether there were enough towels in the locker room, but still.)

Just three weeks after the 2014-15 season ended and four days after the Presidents Cup -- Sangmoon Bae's ill-fated pitch on the final hole is believed to still be rolling backward -- the third go-round of the wrap-around schedule kicked off with the Frys.com Open. As we learned on Sunday during the Golf Channel broadcast, it was the final Frys, with supermarket chain Safeway to take over as title sponsor next year. To celebrate, Kevin Na hit a driver off the deck on the second playoff hole and hooked it into the spinach all the way over on Aisle 17, allowing Emiliano Grillo to become the latest young gun to break through.

The Argentine defeated Na with a birdie on that second playoff hole, winning his first start as a PGA Tour member and thrilling everyone who drafted him thinking he would be the Next Big Thing. Nine golfers, including world No. 7 Justin Rose, had at least a share of the lead on Sunday, but the youngest of the bunch won.

Grillo, who just turned 23, has already had some good showings on the European Tour. But he used PGA sponsor's exemptions earlier this year to produce two high finishes, which got him into the Web.com Tour Finals, during which he won a tournament to secure his PGA Tour card.

The last golfer to win his rookie debut had been Russell Henley at the 2013 Sony Open. Grillo almost won the Puerto Rico Open back in March, but he missed a three-footer for par on the 72nd hole and eventually lost to Alex Cejka in a five-way playoff. On Sunday, Grillo missed another three-footer on the first playoff hole that again would've won the tournament. Both playoff holes were Silverado's No. 18, where minutes earlier Grillo sank a 25-footer to birdie at the end of regulation to reach 15-under 273.

Grillo was one of the hot sleepers on many fantasy draft boards, and he's a member of the so-called Class of '11, a group of golfers who either graduated or were slated to graduate high school in 2011. The others are Jordan Spieth; Daniel Berger, the 2014-15 Rookie of the Year; Justin Thomas, who tied for third at Silverado; Patrick Rodgers, who tied for sixth; and Ollie Schniederjans, T48. Grillo may have already overtaken all but Spieth, and he'll be alongside the world's No. 2 at the Masters, Players Championship, PGA Championship, WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and Hyundai Tournament of Champions. Spieth even fired off a congratulatory tweet:

EMMMILIIIIIIII first of many wins! Cool seeing the 11s always playing great @GrilloEmiliano@JustinThomas34@PRodgersGolf@DanielBerger59

— Jordan Spieth (@JordanSpieth) October 19, 2015

But a word of caution on Grillo: He somehow won despite finishing 61st in the field in strokes gained-putting. That's not going to get done in higher-octane fields.

MONDAY TAKEAWAY

Kevin Na

Na has qualified for the Tour Championship the past two years, and he's definitely among the top 30 on tour. But he's won only once in 300 career starts -- that came in 2011 -- and he's now 0-3 in playoffs. Na gallantly tied Grillo with a 6-footer for birdie on the 72nd hole. But when given a reprieve after Grillo missed that three-footer on the first playoff hole, Na gave it right back with a disastrous driver from the fairway on the par-5 18th. Gamers, if you can't handle lots of high finishes without one paying off with a win, Na will break your heart.

Tyrone Van Aswegen

The South African, who made all of $168,234 in 20 PGA tournaments last year and surprisingly kept his card via the Web.com Tour finals, almost doubled that with a T3 at Silverado, his first career top 10. Remarkably, his Sunday began in the hospital (dehydration) and he might've missed his tee time if not for a 22-minute fog delay. Based on one week, albeit a fantastic week, we're not ready to say that Van Aswegen is a fantasy option.

Justin Thomas

When Grillo sank his birdie putt on the 72nd hole, he overtook his good friend and fellow Class of '11 member Thomas, who wound up T3 at 14-under. A rookie last year, Thomas had seven top 10s and 15 top 25s to just miss the Tour Championship. Very often, we see top rookies take a step backward in their second year, but this tournament bodes well for Thomas as a sophomore.

Jason Bohn

Coming off the best season of his long career (40th in the point standings), Bohn was in the mix as one of the nine golfers to hold at least a share of the lead on Sunday. But he bogeyed the par-5 16th to fall back, then missed a 15-footer for birdie on 18 to finish a stroke out of the playoff. It surely is a good start for the 42-year-old, but it really would be something if he repeated the same-caliber season as he had in 2014-15. Sure, he could've all of a sudden discovered something that allows him to play his best golf in his 40s, but it's unlikely.

Charl Schwartzel

Schwartzel was among four Presidents Cuppers who made the trek from South Korea, and his T6 showing was the best of the bunch. So give him credit for playing, and for playing well, just four days after getting waxed by Phil Mickelson in Sunday's singles matches. But Schwartzel's game has been sliding ever since his 2011 Masters win, and we'd need more evidence before believing he has stemmed the slide.

Patrick Rodgers

Another in the Class of '11, the Stanford alum began his first full season on tour in a four-way tie for sixth with Schwartzel, Rose and Kyle Reifers. As in a few tournaments last season, Rodgers had a chance to win this one, but he played the back nine in 1-over before a birdie on 18 gave him a top 10. It may be a case of Rodgers enduring some near misses before finally breaking through.

Justin Rose

One of two top-10 golfers in the field, Rose surely seemed the odds-on choice to win heading to the back nine on Sunday after playing the front in 2-under. But Rose gave those two strokes back to slide down the leaderboard and finish his day at par-72. A missed three-footer for par on 12 triggered his demise. It was the first time the Englishman played the Frys since the wrap-around season took flight, so it bears watching to see whether he makes other changes to his schedule.

Brendan Steele

Bidding to go wire-to-wire after an opening 63, Steele played the final seven holes in 5-over to tumble to T17. It was a startling fall for someone who played so well for three and a half days days, but then again, Steele has had very few top showings since his lone tour win back in 2011. With so many young stars and more depth on tour than ever, Steele won't get many more opportunities as good as this one.

Rory McIlroy

The tournament got a real boost when McIlroy committed to play (along with Tiger Woods, who bowed out after back surgery). And the world's No. 3 played decently, breaking par all four days and tying for 26th at 9-under. But the closest he came to Grillo was when the Argentine almost hit him with his tee ball on the drivable par-4 17th on Saturday. McIlroy was strong tee-to-green, but he was near the bottom of the field in strokes gained: putting, providing hope that once he solves those woes, his game will be fine and he'll be challenging in all the big tournaments.

Jarrod Lyle

Back in action after a second cancer remission, Lyle missed the cut with a 77 on Friday. He still has nine starts to earn $217,680 that would allow him to keep playing under a major medical extension, a seemingly reachable number. Regardless, it was nice to see the likeable Aussie back in action.

Matt Kuchar

After the Presidents Cup, Kuchar stayed on the other side of the world to compete in – and win – the Fiji International. There wasn't much field for the world's No. 16 to contend with – 59-year-old Vijay Singh, the local favorite, tied for third. Kuchar was the only Presidents Cupper in the field, and the Australasia Tour win was his first victory since the 2014 RBC Heritage.