Daniel Hillier Wins Inaugural Super 6’s Event

Daniel Hillier and Family
Daniel Hillier holding the trophy with his family and girlfriend. (Supplied by NZ Golf)

Daniel Hillier has won the inaugural Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Super 6’s at Manawatu Golf Club.

He’s beaten 17-year-old amateur Jang Hyun Lee in an intense final after the pair traded blows over six holes. Hillier eventually prevailed with one-over-par, after getting up and down in front of the large Manawatu crowd on the 18th hole.

After leading each of the first three rounds of the NZ Super 6’s event at Manawatu Golf Club, Nick Voke went into the Matchplay section of the tournament as a strong favourite but he was upset in the Semi-finals and opened the door for fellow young professional Daniel Hillier to claim victory.

After 54 holes Nick Voke had finished on 12-under par 201, one shot ahead of Luke Toomey with Mike Hendry a further shot back.

The top 24 players headed into the final day and under this new format, all players competed in matchplay until a winner was found.

The top eight qualifiers from the strokeplay received a first-round bye in the matchplay but for Daniel Hillier, he had to battle it out against David Klein in the first round before eventually winning by a stroke.

In the second round, Hillier continued his great Sunday form by knocking off second-placed Toomey by a shot, Voke had to go to a playoff to defeat Jordan Loof while Hendry was upset by Darae Chung.

The third round continued with Hillier knocking Mark Brown out of the competition by a shot and Voke getting the better of Sam An by two. It looked set to be a Hillier and Voke final.

But Jang Hyun Lee had other ideas and in a stunning upset defeated Voke by a shot in the semi-final 1 while Hillier finished two shots ahead of Charlie Smail.

Nick Voke Day 3
Nick Voke Day 3 (BW Media // Dave Lintott.)

Hillier started well in the final taking a two-shot lead before dropping a shot at hole two. That was enough to keep him in front and he finished a shot ahead of Lee to take the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Super6 Championship.

Voke’s day went from bad to worse, losing to Charlie Smail by a shot in the playoff for third.

Hillier’s win today is all the more special with family and friends there to see him win for the first time. He also had his Dad Nigel Hillier on the bag as his caddy.

He said winning on the Jennian Homes Charles Tour with his family there to see it is extra special.

“It’s been a long time coming,” Hillier said.

“I remember my first win very vividly and to be able to lift the trophy here at Manawatu Golf Club in a brand-new event is a special feeling.

“Doing it in front of friends and family is pretty crazy. It’s something I’ve thought about for a while now but to actually get it done means a lot.”

It was a week that could have turned out very differently for the 22-year-old as he was waiting on a European Tour invite which clashed with this week’s event. The tournament was cancelled giving Hillier the green light to play, which is something he’s very thankful for.

“To be honest I’m not too disappointed about that now,” Hillier laughed.

“I’ll be celebrating with everyone tonight for sure, and now that I’m home instead of being overseas I’ll have a bit of downtime before I try and repeat this effort at the Muriwai and Akarana Jennian Homes Charles Tour events.”

Hillier now has two Jennian Homes Charles Tour events to his name with the first being the Harewood Open in 2015 when he won as an amateur.

The Jennian Homes Charles Tour season is well underway for 2020, with the next event being the Autex Muriwai Open from March 26.

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