Scot Calum Hill was delighted to put aside ‘some niggling aches and pains’ to grab nine birdies in a closing round 66 at the co-sanctioned Australian PGA Championship in Brisbane.
Hill, 29, eventually finished at nine-under to share 15th place on the host Royal Queensland course.
Aussie Min Woo Lee went straight to the top of the new 2024 Race to Dubai season with the former Scottish Open champ comfortably capturing the top ‘down under’ title by three shots thanks to a closing 67 for a 20-under tally.
It’s Lee’s third DP World Tour title and comes just six weeks in capturing a maiden Asian Tour trophy. As well, he and his double major winning three-year older sister, Minji continues a ‘First I win and then she wins’ scenario as we saw two years ago when he won at the Renaissance Club, as his sister won a first major two weeks later at the Evian Championship in France.
Calum Hill shakes of the niggles and pain to post a rousing final round 66 at the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship
Min Woo’s Macau Open was followed a week later when the 28-year-old Minji bagged a 17th career title in South Korea.
The Gleneagles attached Hill had been on the reserve list for last fortnight’s 2023 season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, but after tweaking his back in undertaking some gym work he felt doubtful in teeing-up in a second visit in four years to Australia’s ‘Sunshine State‘.
Hill said: “I was feeling a few aches and niggles arriving here in Brisbane last Saturday, so thanks to some treatment I was able to tee-up this week.
“It was a good last round considering how I was feeling at the start of the week, though I seemed like I was having either birdies or bogeys but it was nice to play a round where I could have gone low whereas I was fighting the pressure over the earlier three days.
“So, it was fantastic to finish with a 66 considering how I started the event”.
Fifer Conor Syme was the best of the four visiting Scots posting a closing 71 to share 13th place.
Craigielaw’s Grant Forrest closed with 72 and MacIntyre signed for a 68 fo a five-under share of 33rd place.
Syme went straight into seventh, Hill ninth and Forrest and MacIntyre tied 17tth on the new 2024 Race to Dubai, and with fellow Scots Scott Jamieson and Stevie Gallacher further down the ‘Race’ at the close of similar co-sanctioned Joburg Open.
The four Scots ‘down under’ were then heading south to Sydney for this week’s co-sanctioned Australian Open and with Hill looking forward to a first visit to the ‘Harbour City’.
He said: “This is my second visit down under. I was first here in Brisbane in December 2019 also for the Australian PGA at Royal Pines.
“It was one of my favourite trips back then and now heading to Sydney for my first Australian Open.
“Thankfully I’m fine enough to now head to Sydney also for the first time. I’ve heard so much about the two golf courses, and also looking forward to taking tomorrow off and exploring the city”.
