RBC CANADIAN OPEN

June 11, 2026

Emiliano Grillo

TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley (North Course)

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Opening round 64. What did you like about your round today?

EMILIANO GRILLO: Pretty much everything. I putted well on the front nine and not a lot of action on the back nine. I was able to make some good saves and a great drive on 18. I was somehow able to miss the green from 160 yards. I was able to make 4.

Yeah, good overall. Played from the fairway, which is kind of important out here.

THE MODERATOR: What are you seeing from TPC Toronto?

EMILIANO GRILLO: It's a little softer than last year, I feel like. A bit more wind, so I don't know. I played well on Sunday, and that gave me some good momentum at least on the golf course, and I ended up liking it. At first I wasn't into the golf course. Now I like it a little bit more, especially after today.

Q. Obviously as the day has gone on, the course is firming up with all the heat and the sun. You had a great day. What was working for you that the rest of the field in the afternoon hasn't been able to get going?

EMILIANO GRILLO: Yeah, soft greens, slow greens, and we're so used to playing fast greens, that when we come to slow greens, it's hard to see more break and more speed. You got to get it there.

Sometimes you hit a little too firm 4-footers coming back on the greens. It's not the most ideal situation.

I mean, I was able to hole some putts on the front nine, and then, like I said, on the back nine I was just leaving some of them short. I was able to make the saves.

Q. Do you prefer playing in the morning or in the afternoon?

EMILIANO GRILLO: Same, yeah.

Q. Just wondering, because some golfers to be, like, Oh, I'm chasing that score. Like that score is out on the course. I can go get it.

EMILIANO GRILLO: In the morning obviously you're trying to post score, and then in the afternoon you kind of know what the score is. Obviously in the afternoon usually, like you say, it's faster, it's drier. Today was definitely windier. I think they had some rain in the morning.

But, yeah, I mean, getting out to a quick start helps. If I would have started on the back nine, it would have been a slow day and then maybe trying to catch up, and probably the score would not have been the same.

Always starting with four, five birdies on the front nine, always helps, for sure.

Q. In other countries, like British golf, it's kind of defined in that you think weather, wind, links golf. Certain things in the Southern United States have their own characteristics. What is Canadian golf to you? What are some of the characteristics of a Canadian golf course that maybe differ than elsewhere in the world?

EMILIANO GRILLO: I mean, it's definitely green. Obviously it's coming out of the winter with the amount of snow that Canada gets, and you are always going to see very green golf courses.

This time of the year it could be warm weather, and the golf course could dry up by the weekend and be -- I remember back in the day we used to play Glen Abbey. It was super dry, and the ball was running forever.

Then years like this or a couple of years ago in Hamilton where it was, like, super soft. You can get both. I feel like that's the beauty.

You have some really good golf courses, very competitive. I feel like if it doesn't rain by Sunday, it's going to be a very quick and fun golf course out here.