New Zealand Open: Daniel Hillier leads tournament after wild finish to third round
Saturday, 28 February 2026
Everyone wanted a piece of Daniel Hillier after his late round fireworks at Millbrook’s Arrowtown Resort.
The media, the punters, and a Drug Free Sport New Zealand anti-doping tester.
Hillier picked up five strokes over the final five holes on Saturday evening to surge into the outright lead of the $2 million tournament in remarkable fashion.
“That was crazy. I obviously didn’t have my best early on, but it was just one of those days you’ve go to stay patient. I knew there were a couple of par-5s I could take advantage of late in the piece,” Hillier said.
“Thankfully, I did that, and it was pretty cool to get one on the last in front of that massive crowd.”
Fast-forward 24-hours, after he starts the final round at 18-under and with a one-stroke lead over fellow Kiwi Kerry Mountcastle and Australian Curtis Luck, and he’ll potentially get a chance to wow the crowd again.
“I would love a replay of that, and some more. But obviously I’ve got a job to do, I’ll rest up tonight, have a good sleep and hopefully come out firing.”
The newly-married 27-year-old went birdie, birdie, par, eagle, birdie to finish his third round, a 7-under 64 that looked beyond unlikely most of the day.
After all, despite making birdie to start his round and swiftly grab a share of the lead with Kiwi amateur Yuki Miya, Hillier struggled to get off the par train, making just one more birdie through the next 12 holes.
With a host of golfers shooting low in the benign conditions, the pre tournament favourite slid down the leaderboard despite not dropping any shots.
“Yeah, the putter was a little bit cold through the middle there, a few close calls. But it was just a waiting game, bit of patience and keeping the head down and trying not to get too far ahead of myself.”
As then co-leaders Mountcastle and Luck were being interviewed after making bogeys on the final hole and dropping back to 17-under, Hillier holed an eagle on the penultimate hole.
Suddenly in a share of the lead, he then stuck his tee shot on the par-3 No 18 to within four feet.
Overnight leader Miya, who is tied for 5th at 13-under, almost matched it, prompting the Kiwis to bump fists as they made their way to the green.
“I don’t know if we have ever had this many Kiwis at the top of the leaderboard, but it’s great to see. Everyone is in good spirits, and I can’t wait to see how all the Kiwi boys do,” Hillier said, before heading off to provide a sample.
In addition to Hillier, Mountcastle and Miya, fellow Kiwis Steven Alker and Sam Jones are also in the top-10, offering plenty of hope there will be a first Kiwi winner since Michael Hendry in 2017.
If Mountcastle does it, he will be able to thank fiancé Georgia Brown, who is carrying his bag this week.
The 30-year-old, who at one stage held a two-stroke lead on Saturday, nailed nine birdies on his way to shooting 64.
“That was probably a 9 out of 10 out there today, everything was kind of firing. Unfortunately, had a couple of drops out there in the hazards, but that was a very solid performance,” he said.
One of those came on No 18, which features a green surrounded by water, which he, Hillier and Christchurch golfer Kazuma Kobori have all found the drink on this week.
Having turned his back on the tee shot before his ball flopped into the water, Mountcastle got up and down to limit the damage to a bogey.
“Yeah, I knew as soon as I hit the ground, because I hit the ground before the ball. I knew where that one was going.”
AT A GLANCE
– 18: Daniel Hillier (NZ)
– 17: Kerry Mountcastle (NZ), Curtis Luck (AUS)
– 16: Lucas Herbert (AUS)