Grillo’s Play Shines in Final Event

Save the best for last, they say.

The stage was set up so that many would not fare so well. With temperatures teetering between the 30’s and 40s and wind speeds matching those numbers, the conditions were far from ideal to compete at the Northeast Invitational, hosted by the University of Rhode Island this past weekend. But, since it was the final event of the season, junior captain Tony Grillo made no excuses and had his best outing yet.

“His performance this week was really cool to see because he had been struggling earlier in the season,” freshman Seiji Liu said. “I’m really proud of him for just coming through and playing well. Hitting some great shots in these tough conditions was really great for him.”

In the final competition of the short fall season for men’s golf, the Crimson had its highest first-round score of the year with 300, but it was Grillo’s play that helped keep Harvard in contention. On Saturday, the junior came out strong and posted 16 pars, 1 birdie, and 1 bogey to finish even par at 71.

This performance was followed up the next day with a round of 73—a score that could have been lower had it not been for Grillo’s triple bogey in the 10th hole that nixed his chances of winning the tournament.

“I was playing as well as I was playing [Saturday], but I had a really bad 10th hole and that set me back quite a bit unfortunately,” Grillo said. “Either way I was able to hold it together and gained another stroke coming in, so I was very happy with that.”

Sunday’s score of 73 was matched by teammate Liu, and both results contributed to a better second-round score of 297, which was good enough to help the Crimson place second overall with 597 points, nine behind winner Columbia.

Going two over par the entire weekend was by far the best performance for Grillo and one of the best for the team this season. He finished tied for third place individually, improving from the 42nd-place finish he achieved last week at the Big 5 Invitational.

“I think it all just kind of came together,” Grillo said. “I went back and worked on my swing a couple of weeks ago. This week I planned on being able to stop thinking about it so much.”

“Like I said, I think the weather helped me to do that,” he added. “I was more worried about my shots than about what my swing was doing.”

As a result, Grillo produced a consistent performance that propelled Harvard to its highest finish this season in a tournament that had at least 14 competitors.

For much of the fall campaign, the seasoned veteran placed among the top three performers on the team, among talented rookies Liu and Theodore Lederhausen and junior Mark Pollak, but never leading the pack.

Before this weekend’s event, Grillo’s top performance came two weeks ago at the MacDonald Cup hosted by Ivy League rival Yale. Grillo posted two rounds of 71 and 75, going six over par and coming in sixth place individually and second on the team.

In the competition previous to that, the Crimson participated in a 54-hole tournament in which the team had its best finish in its history, placing seventh out of 15 teams. Grillo had a significant contribution to that result as well, finishing only four over par, with his second round going two below par–the best round for Harvard all season.

The junior’s strong play this semester has built off a successful season last year when he was named to the Ping Division I All-New England Team. In Ivy League championship play, Grillo came in sixth place, enough to earn him a spot on the 2010 All-Ivy League second team.

His credentials merited him the title of captain this season, and his teammates have appreciated the junior’s guidance and experience in and out of the classroom thus far.

“I think Tony is doing a fantastic job as captain,” Liu said. “His leadership has been really great, especially in helping me transition to the college athletic life…He’s just been a really good mentor to me [in regards to] countless things.”

—Staff writer Brian A. Campos can be reached at bcampos@fas.harvard.edu.