Hillier storms home to claim outright lead in New Zealand Open

The highest-ranked player in the field this week showed his class by finishing birdie-birdie-par-eagle-birdie to thrill a huge home crowd eager to see a New Zealander win the national title for the first time since 2017.
 
A runner-up here in 2024, Hillier signed for a seven-under-par 64 to sit at 18-under through 54 holes, and has another Kiwi, Kerry Mountcastle (64), and Australia’s Curtis Luck (63) right behind him at 17-under, setting up what should be a super showdown on Sunday.
 
Also well in the hunt for the Brodie Breeze Trophy is Australian Lucas Herbert, whose 9-under 62 lifted him in outright fourth at 16-under, three shots ahead of a quartet tied for fifth.
 
On a day made for low scoring, Hillier had played steady, if unspectacular, golf through his first 13 holes, with two birdies sitting alongside 11 pars.
 
But then, with the leaders moving further away, his charge to top of the leaderboard started with a birdie on the par-5 14th.
 
“That was a crazy last few holes,” Hillier said. “I didn’t have my best early on. It was one of those days and I had to stay patient.
 
“I knew there were a couple of par-5s I could take advantage of later in the piece. Thankfully I could do that and it was pretty cool to get one at the last as well in front of that massive crowd.”
 
Being in contention on Sunday has become a regular occurrence for Hillier, who has two top-fives on the DP World Tour already this year.
 
“Looking ahead to tomorrow I would love a replay of that and some more,” he said. “Obviously I have a job to do. I will rest up tonight and have a good sleep and come out firing.” 
 
Mountcastle reached 18-under with a hole to play but dropped a shot when his tee shot plunged into the water at the par-3 closing hole.
 
It was only a minor blip on an outstanding afternoon that featured nine birdies, the 30-year-old rating his round as “nine out of 10”.
 
“Everything was kind of firing,” he said. “I’m sort of not really thinking about what’s happening in the tournament. It’s just I’m out here trying to hit shot after shot and it’s kind of the first time when I’ve been up the top where I’ve been this comfortable.
 
“Normally I’m always thinking about, “Oh, I need to do this or what’s going on about that?”
 
An ever-present on Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia leaderboards this summer, Luck is hoping to complete back-to-back victories for West Australian golfers at Millbrook after being part of the celebrations of Ryan Peake’s memorable win last year.
 
Playing the New Zealand Open for only the second time, the former world No.1 amateur is in a positive frame-of-mind heading into the final round where a win would take him top of the Australasian Order of Merit, earning an Asian Tour card and a place at the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.
 
“It was quite cruisy today so that’s always nice when you finish a round,” Luck said. “It’s high pressure circumstances being in the back end of the tournament.
 
“I’m not trying to really think too far ahead. Obviously fantastic that Peaky won last year and it was pretty cool to be able to celebrate with him afterwards. It’d be nice to get another WA player on the board straight after.”
 
After being 3-over after just three holes in the horrible conditions on Thursday, Herbert has collected 20 birdies, continuing the fine form that has handed two top-10s on LIV Golf’s first two events in 2026.
 
“It’s the story of my last four tournaments I think,” the Victorian said.
 
“I have got off to a shaky start and had to fight it back from oblivion. It’s good to get back sort of in with a look in the tournament.”
 
Three other Kiwis remain in the mix for Sunday, the overnight leader, New Zealand amateur teenager Yuki Miya, wasn’t able to keep pace with the more credentialled players at the top of the leaderboard, dropping to a share of fifth at 13-under after a 70.
 
Meanwhile, a 66 from both Sam Jones and Steven Alker who are at 12-under-par in a share for ninth.
 
“Today was moving day and I wanted to be a little more aggressive, but tomorrow I am going to need to be really aggressive to catch the guys in front,” Alker said.
 
“I am having a blast with ‘Goldie’ (Jeff Wilson) on the bag and it’s been a lot of fun and great to be back in New Zealand playing again. That is the coolest part.”
 
The lowest round of the day belonged to Korea’s Chan Choi, who matched the Championship course record with a 10-under-par 61. After making the cut on the number, he is now in a share of eighth at 12-under.
 
Japan’s Tomoyo Ikemura was another to make a sizeable move on Saturday, carding a bogey-free 8-under-par 63 to be 13-under-par overall.
 
The final round will get underway at 8.08am on Sunday with the final group teeing off at 12.59pm.