Hill’s chance to make number one return
Calum Hill is out to climb back to the top of the Challenge Tour’s order of merit standings in China this week.
The Crook of Devon golfer, an ambassador for the Gleneagles Hotel, teed-up for his first round at the Foshan Open yesterday.
Hill dropped back to fourth in the Road to Mallorca list following a 15th place finish at last week’s Hainan Open, where he shot six-under par.
But a strong showing at Foshan Golf Club could see him leapfrog Antoine Rozner and Robin Roussel of France, and current leader Francesco Laporta.
And he certainly made a positive start, opening up with a four-under par 68. Twenty-four-year-old Hill has two wins to his name on the Challenge Tour this season, the Euram Bank Open and the Made in Denmark Challenge.
He has also impressed with appearances on the European Tour Europe’s top tier - at the Scottish Open, Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and Open de España.
This week’s Foshan Open holds the Challenge Tour’s biggest prize fund of the year at $500,000, with players given the final opportunity to book their grand final place.
The top 45 players on the Road to Mallorca will tee it up at the grand final in Mallorca which takes place from
November 7-10 at Club de Golf Alcanada.
Second-placed Roussel was determined not to let Hill and others in the mix jump above him in China.
“To win the Road to Mallorca would mean a lot because it obviously means you’re the one at the top at the end of the season,” he said.
“It means that you can perform in the biggest events of the season, which means a lot because it means you can be clutch in the right moments.”
Hill was playing alongside Kieran Muir of New Zealand and USA player Nicolas Paez in round one.