Hillier up with leaders at Tour Champs
- Dave Worsley
- 10 hours ago
- 1 min read
Wellington's Daniel Hillier is up with the leaders at the season-ending World Tour Championship in Dubai, positioning him for a shot at a US PGA Tour card.
He carded a first round five-under 67 at the Jumeirah Golf Estates course, three strokes behind American leader Michael Kim to share sixth place in a 52-man field. Tommy Fleetwood is second at seven-under and Rory McIlroy tied third at six-under.
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Hillier, 27 had a round featuring three birdies on the front nine at the first, second and ninth and two at back on the 14th and 15th holes in a flawless round.
Hillier can join compatriot Ryan Fox on next year's PGA Tour if he finishes high enough on the final leaderboard.
Countryman Kazuma Kobori is in a tie forr 22nd at two-under
The top ten players on the final "Race to Dubai" World Tour rankings, who are not already exempt, will earn PGA TOUR membership.
Hillier was ranked 12th on that list coming into the $US10 million ($17.6 million) event and after round one is up to ninth.
He came into the tournament in good form, having finished fifth at last week's Abu Dhabi Championship and ninth at the India Championship last month.