Emiliano Grillo, who began the week not knowing if he would even be able to get into the country, fired an eight-under 64 for a one-shot lead after the first round of the Canadian Open.
The 22-year-old Argentine on Thursday went bogey free to lead Vaughn Taylor and Brian Harman after qualifying to play in this PGA Tour event as a result of his top-10 finish at last week’s Barbasol Championship in Alabama.
US golfers Harman and Taylor carded matching seven-under 65s and they share second place at the Glen Abbey Golf Club.
Erik Compton, Steve Wheatcroft, South African Tyrone Van Aswegen and 17-year-old Australian Ryan Ruffels are one shot further back and tied for fourth following six-under 66s.
Grillo has never won in North America, as he spends most of his time playing on the European Tour, but he might consider a move in the future and has adapted quickly to the conditions. Once he learned he was eligible to play this week, Grillo’s first priority was to try and get a Canadian visa. After talking to a few people, he decided the best way to get one was to travel to the US-Canada border and apply in person. So he flew to Buffalo, New York, and drove to the border to take his chances.
“Yeah, it was a crazy week. The last eight, nine days has been crazy,” Grillo said. “They told me that I wasn’t able to get a visa in time, so I had to go to the Canadian border and ask for permission to play this tournament.”
“I basically asked them and told them I don’t have a visa. ‘I’m here to ask you for a permit,’” he said. “There is a kind of exception for athletes, but Canada has to gain something, and I have to gain something, so it kind of worked.”
Grillo won the Argentine Open last year and lost in a playoff earlier this year at the Puerto Rico Open. On Thursday, he finished with eight birdies, including three on the four par-fives.
Taylor was also in the field after a top-10 result last week, and Harman had a stretch of four consecutive birdies and eight overall with one bogey in his round. Defending champion Tim Clark of South Africa carded an even-par 72, putting him in a tie for 88th and eight shots back.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB