UAE-born Josh Hill impresses at Dubai Desert Classic

Josh Hill during the third round of the Dubai Desert Classic on Saturday

Hill is on track for his best finish in a top professional event

By James Jose

Published: Sat 29 Jan 2022, 8:39 PM

There have been ups and downs but it is all part of the journey for Josh Hill. And the Dubai-born Englishman will take all these lessons as he mixes with the best in the business and pens exciting new chapters in his golfing sojourn.

After becoming the first UAE-based golfer to make the cut in back-to-back events, Hill conjured up a rousing round of golf at the Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic on Saturday to be on track for his best finish in a top professional event to date.

The strapping 17-year-old amateur stood tall with an impressive three-under 69 on the Majlis Course of the Emirates Golf Club, in the third round, to surge to tied 23rd along with six others that included 2020 Dubai winner Australia’s Lucas Herbert.

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Hill shot five birdies and two bogeys in his round. Coming on the back of his two-under 70 in the opening round and two-over 74 in the second, which saw him finish on par and make the cut, Hill is now three-under for the tournament. Hill, who became the youngest winner in professional golf when he won the Al Ain Open on the Mena Tour in 2019, is now set for a top finish, if he can keep it all together, heading into the final round on Sunday.

Teeing off with Australian Maverick Antcliff and Denmark’s Rasmus Hojgaard, Hill made par on the opening hole before sinking a birdie on the 351-yard par-4 second. But he was to lose the advantage gained as he closed out the front nine with a bogey on the 488-yard par-4 ninth.

That wasn’t going to bog down Hill though as he pulled up his socks on the return journey. Hill, who had finished tied for 58th at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship in Abu Dhabi last week, blitzed his way to three birdies on the trot — from the 10th to the 12th — to go three-under through 12 holes. He did encounter a blip on the 463-yard par-4 16th but recovered that with a birdie on the 564-yard par-5 18th.

Hill, who has already earned a slot in England Golf’s High Performance Squad, will tee off with Irishman Shane Lowry and Frenchman Romain Langasque, in the final round on Sunday.