Hillier four back at Open, Fox struggles
- NZ Sports Wire
- Jul 18
- 2 min read
New Zealand golfer Daniel Hillier has put together a solid opening round at The Open Championship.
Hillier sits four shots off the lead after shooting an even-par 71 on Thursday (Friday NZ Time) at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland, in a share of 31st, while Ryan Fox is tied for 116th after a four-over 75.
LATEST HEADLINES:
Hillier, in his fourth Open, posted an eagle, a birdie and three bogeys after heading out in the morning wave to sit alongside a host of golfers, including defending champion Xander Schauffele and Rory McIlroy.
After a bogey, birdie, bogey start, the 26-year-old's round got more mundane, with pars at 13 of the remaining 15 holes.
The main highlight was the eagle at the par-five 12th hole. After a 293-yard drive, he put his approach shot to within 16 feet and rolled in the putt.
Kiwi No 1 Fox had a rough start to his ninth Open, with five bogeys in his opening six holes, before a birdie at the par-five seventh.
After going out in 40, his back-nine was much steadier, with seven pars, along with a birdie at the par-three 13th and bogey at the par-four 11th, still leaving him plenty of work to make the weekend cut.
Hillier will be the first Kiwi on the course in the second round on Friday, teeing off at 6.57am local time (5.57pm NZT), while Fox joins the action at 2.26pm local time (1.26am Saturday NZT).
