Hillier looking to seize the moment
More than once, Daniel Hillier has allowed himself to imagine being followed by the biggest gallery he’s ever seen at Royal Wellington, in the chase for a coveted spot at the Masters and Open Championship.
For the 19-year-old from Whitby, a 20-minute drive down State Highway 58, reality hits when he tees off at 1.40pm today in the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship on his home track.
The second-ranked of New Zealand’s 10 golfers, competing against 106 raiders from 36 countries for amateur golf’s biggest prize, is confident of riding the wave rather than let it envelop him if he’s in the fight on Sunday.
After all, Hillier has had two years to get used to the idea since the club was awarded New Zealand’s first hosting rights for the ninth edition of the tournament amid much fanfare.
‘‘You can either embrace it or choose to let it scare you. I’ve dealt with it differently over time. I’ve been in situations where I’ve had reasonably large crowds and shied away and didn’t handle it the way I should have,’’ he said.
‘‘I’ve learned from that and now I’m ready to embrace it and let it be an enjoyable experience rather than a scary one.’’
Hillier finished 15th a year ago in a tidy AAC debut at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club in Incheon, South Korea. The youngest New Zealand Amateur champion at 17 when still at Aotea College, Hillier has handled pressure down the stretch before but never with so many eyes on him.
Caddie John Warrington, a friend and former interclub teammate, will keep him grounded and other than his parents and close friends, Hillier doesn’t quite know how big this will get. ‘‘Any support will be great; I know a few who’ll be here.’’
The tournament backed by millions of dollars from the Masters and Royal and Ancient Golf Club swung into action on a bright, breezy Wednesday, complete with Rolex clocks in a media marquee fit for a PGA Tour event.
Hillier, Nick Voke (the country’s top-ranked at 44 in the world), Ryan Chisnall and Luke Brown sat at the top table musing about their big moment, all back from Incheon last year. Luke Toomey’s third placing behind Australians Curtis Luck and Brett Coletta - all three since turned pro remains New Zealand’s best finish.
Said Hillier: ‘‘Nine other Kiwi blokes, they’re all great guys and we feed off each other. When someone is playing well that lifts you up, and if someone’s not playing well you have the ability to lift them up.’’
A New Zealand victory is a distinct prospect against a field headed by Australians Travis Smyth (12th in the world) and 14thranked Harrison Endycott, and two former winners from China: Guan Tianlang and Jin Cheng.
Hillier said the large, tiered Greg Turner-designed greens were running fast after a week of dry weather and scores may not be as low as first thought. Pinpoint approach shots in the increasing wind will be vital.
And dealing with the occasion. Chisnall, the Nelson product at his third AAC and the third-ranked New Zealander at 81 in the world, quipped that holding themselves back at the luxurious buffet in the clubhouse would be another challenge. ‘‘It can get out of hand pretty quickly,’’ he laughed.
Northland left-hander Luke Brown said of the size of the tournament: ‘‘I played in Korea last year, and I don’t think I’ve witnessed anything quite like it. It took me probably a day to get used to it, and from there, you learn so much about how it’s actually done as a professional because we don’t get this, and you’re going to have to get used to it eventually.’’
Whoever does that the fastest may well be clutching a golden ticket to Augusta and Carnoustie, come Sunday afternoon.