BOY WONDER
English prodigy, 15, warms up for European Tour debut by beating Koepka!
What were you doing at the age of 15? English prodigy Josh hill, taking a break from his GCSE studies, warmed up for his European tour debut in the abu Dhabi hSBC Championship tomorrow by taking on world No 1 Brooks Koepka in a nine-hole friendly – and beating him.
‘I know it’s not a tournament but it’s still nice to say you beat the best player on the planet,’ said hill, following his one-hole success. ‘I was a bit scared at first because when you see him he’s so big you think he’s going to knock you out. But he was so nice and helpful.’
Koepka, preparing for his first tournament in three months following knee surgery, was equally effusive. he said: ‘I don’t know what I was doing at 15, causing trouble probably, but I do know my golf was nowhere near as far along as Josh’s.
‘I’m sure he enjoyed getting the better of me, as he should. he’s a good player, he strikes it well and putts really well and he asks good questions. In his shoes, I’d have been afraid to ask but he wanted advice about how to handle the week, and it’s important to pick a good player’s mind. It’s going to be cool to see how he develops.’
hill, currently an amateur who plays off a handicap of plus five, entered the record books last October when he shot a final round 62 to win the al ain Open in the Middle East, becoming the youngest player ever to win a professional event offering world ranking points.
already a strapping 6ft 3in, he splits his time between Dubai, where his father Russell is an osteopath, and Woodbury Park in Devon, a course once owned by motor racing legend and keen golfer, Nigel Mansell.
the chance to practise with Koepka came about through the american’s long-game coach Claude harmon, who has a teaching school in Dubai where hill has lessons.
‘I just learned so much from Brooks,’ said the teenager. ‘I thought it was fascinating when he said that, typically, he only attacked four or five pins each round, playing for the middle of the greens for the rest of the time. that’s really interesting, coming from the world No 1.’
the pair played for 100 dirhams (£19), but hill is still waiting for his winnings. ‘I wouldn’t have taken it anyway,’ he said, with a boyish smile.
aside from being slow to pay up, hill could hardly ask for a better role model. Koepka was a hotshot recently graduated from the Challenge tour — one rung below the European tour — when he made his debut in this event in 2014. he was so overawed he promptly missed the cut by a mile.
Now look at him, so in demand he is receiving an estimated £1million appearance fee this week.
Koepka often gives the impression he would rather be lifting weights than a golf club, but admitted he had missed the game during his 14-week absence.
‘I’ve missed showing up to an event and preparing for something because I haven’t had anything to prepare for,’ he said.
In words that will surely send a chill down the spines of his competitors, Koepka revealed that he was troubled by his left knee throughout last season when he just happened to finish in the top four in all four majors.
‘I’m excited about the fact I can practise because there wasn’t much of that last year with my knee,’ he said. ‘there were times when I couldn’t get on my left side or squat down in a bunker. I struggled to get down to read a putt. thankfully that’s in the past now.’
What is he going to be like now he is fully fit? In words that resounded like a statement of intent, he replied: ‘I think we all know there are four tournaments that I’m looking forward to the most.’