[Photo: PhotoSport NZ]
Daniel Hillier has become the first New Zealander to claim their national championship since Michael Hendry prevailed in 2017.
The 27-year-old from Wellington shot a final-round 67 to reach 22-under-par and eclipse Australia’s Lucas Herbert (67) to win the 105th New Zealand Open by two shots at Millbrook Resort outside Queenstown.
With Hiller already qualified for this year’s Open Championship by finishing 18th on last year’s Race to Dubai on the DP World Tour, Herbert earned the coveted place at Royal Birkdale in July via the tournament’s place on the Open Qualifying Series. It will be Herbert’s sixth start at The Open and his first at Birkdale.
“There’s a lot of positives to take out of today,” the Victorian said.
“I think I said yesterday [I was] three-over through three [holes] on Thursday, and I made two bogeys for the rest of the week. I’m pretty proud of that. The way I was able to fight back and get myself a ticket to Birkdale.”
Hillier proved untouchable during a final round in which several players had chances to apply pressure to the overnight leader but none could muster the necessary momentum. The highest-ranked player in the field opened with six straight pars, allowing Herbert to draw within a shot, but neither of the other challengers – Kerry Mountcastle (71) and Curtis Luck (79) – made inroads. Mountcastle wound up sharing third place with Japan’s Tomoyo Ikemura (67), five shots behind Hillier and three behind Herbert.
By the turn, the outcome rested between the top pair, with Hillier rebounding from his only bogey of the day at the 10th hole of Millbrook’s composite layout by birdieing the next two holes as Herbert produced only pars. Both men finished par-par-birdie-par to preserve the two-shot margin.
Hillier, who was married last weekend, has enjoyed a week to remember.
“The second-best day of my life,” Hillier said in the immediate aftermath. “This is going to be the best eight days of my life forever,” he added afterwards.
“I never thought it was going to be easy. I knew there would be some guys challenging me today. I’m really proud of how I stuck with it today.”
This victory continues a strong trajectory for the Kiwi. He twice won the New Zealand Amateur and more recently has become a fixture on the DP World Tour ever since winning the British Masters in mid-2023. Today marks his eighth victory as a professional but is his most satisfying.
“It’s a dream come true,” Hillier said. “Ever since I started playing, this is the one I wanted to get. I caught myself a few times thinking about the carrot at the end of the road but was able to bring myself back.”
