The 23-year-old world No. 432, who will make his first start at the Hero Open this week, made his presence known in Northern Ireland thanks to a stunning 8-under 62 in the second round that gave him a one-shot lead after 36 holes. He carded back-to-back rounds of 70 over the weekend, making two bogeys over his final three holes on Sunday to slide into the tie for third. “I’ve been playing well the last couple of months, just haven’t really put four rounds together yet,” said Hillier following his second round. “In a pretty good position at the moment, so just going to keep riding the wave and stick to the game plan and see how we go.” Hillier, who ranked first in the field last week in driving distance at 315.5, enjoyed a notable amateur career, twice winning the New Zealand Amateur and representing his country at the Eisenhower Trophy. Last year, he played on the Charles Tour in New Zealand, which held just six events before the pandemic hit, but Hilliard won two of them. On the season, he’s 8-for-10 in cuts made on the Challenge Tour and 1-for-2 in ET action.
