- Slug: Sports-Phoenix Open Round 2. 600 words.
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By Adam Maggard
Cronkite News
SCOTTSDALE – As the crowd cheered, Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo jumped into the arms of Puerto Rico’s Rafael Campos. It was an accomplishment worthy of the celebratory moment.
Grillo had just slam dunked his shot on the iconic hole 16 at the WM Phoenix Open Friday, marking the first ace since 2022 when Sam Ryder and Carlos Ortiz each nailed holes-in-one.
“It was loud,” Grillo said. “It was very loud. It was a lot of emotions. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know what to do. There was a lot going on. I just loved watching the beer go on to the green. That’s what I enjoyed.”
In was one highlight during a day of surprises. Another was Thomas Detry, 32, ranked 58th in the world and whose only victory came on the Challenge Tour. Despite this, Detry put up a 7-under Saturday, boosting his two-day total to 12-under and moving him into the solo lead.
“I’ve actually been very comfortable on the greens this week,” he said. “Did some good work with my coach, and the greens are rolling just as good as it gets.”
While Detry might not be a major name on the tour, some may know him from the Guinness World Record he holds for the fastest hole of golf when he finished a 500-yard, par-4 10th hole at Real Club de Golf Guadalmina in Marbella, Spain, in 1 minute, 29 seconds.
A late surprise was Jordan Spieth, whose two eagles on the back nine put him in contention and tied for fourth,
“Yeah, I’ll be honest …if you told me that I’d be here right now two weeks ago, I’d say that’s impressive,” Spieth said. “Let’s do it on Sunday.”
Another surprise came when fan favorite Rickie Fowler withdrew from the tournament Friday due to illness.
Tom Kim, who finished day two 9-under par and in fourth place, was pleased with his efforts.
“It’s been solid,” he said. “I’ve just been executing my game plan really well. Been rolling the putter really good, and off the tee it’s been pretty steady. Just a lot of good consistent golf, and hope to keep it going the next two days.”
Kim played with world top-ranked golfer Scottie Scheffler, who is on his second tournament back after a hand injury he sustained on Christmas that required surgery to remove broken glass from his hand. Scheffler finished 7 under and tied for 11.
Also high on the leaderboard, Alex Smalley finished tied for second at 10 under with Michael Kim
“A big key for my swing is tempo,” Smalley said. “ I feel like if my tempo is in sync. If I don’t get too quick at the top, everything is pretty good, and I’ve been really cognizant of my tempo so far the first two rounds.”
Canadian Adam Hadwin finished Friday 5 under after seven birdies on the day.
An emerging force was Keith Mitchell, who posted a 5 under Friday to put him in a tie for sixth.
When asked his secret to turning around his performance from Thursday, Mitchell said, “ I flipped my hands on my grip. I started the day yesterday left-hand low for the first five holes and hit zero good putts through five holes, so I said, that’s enough. Went back to my original conventional grip and was 10-under since then. It’s that simple.”
Among notable players not to make the cut was ASU’s Jose Luis Ballester Barrio, who was competing in his first tour event.
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