Daniel Hillier having the time of his life in his first NZ Open

Story courtesy of NZ Golf

Experience and Youth tee it up together

New Zealand Amateur Champion, Daniel Hillier is having the time of his life in Queenstown as he competes in his first New Zealand Open.

Hillier got the chance to play the opening two rounds with the experienced PGA Tour and Web.com Tour stalwart, Steven Alker.

Alker who is currently in third place in Queenstown after an impressive five under 67 at the Hills this morning, has played in America against the world’s best since 1996 and saw potential in young Hillier.

“Yeah he’s got a lot of potential, he hits it nice and high and I think he’s got a good game for the states, he hits that nice strong ball which is great,” said Alker.

This was a great chance for Hillier to learn from Alker over the 36 holes and build his golfing knowledge as he looks to further what is an already exciting career.

“We had a chat on the way round, I kind of feel for where his game is at and he’s a lot better than I was when I was 17 that’s for sure,” grinned Alker.

Hillier is flirting with the cut line sitting one over par for the tournament after rounds of 71 and 73. The cut line is predicting to be at even par. 

Whether he makes the cut or not, this week has been hugely beneficial for New Zealand’s best amateur.

“It’s been a great experience playing alongside Steven Alker to get up close and pick his ears a bit,” said Hiller

“He goes about his business quietly and in a way I like, so it was good to get some advice from him from time to time.”

Hillier showed signs of brilliance throughout the first two days, but clearly couldn’t get everything in sync. He will be watching on nervously as the cut line changes throughout the afternoon.

“I haven’t quite had the ‘A game’ this week, but it does show me in the future if I keep working hard I can be up there with the best of them.”

After hearing Alker’s comments Hillier mentioned the States is definitely on his radar.

“The states is definitely a goal of mine. I will hopefully get over there for the US Amateur next year, so it was nice to learn more about the states from Alker.

To find out if Hiller will be pegging it up in the weekend, use the below link for LIVE scores.

Full Leaderboard below:
http://www.nzopen.co.nz/live-scoring.html