Three Kiwis for The Open

By Neville Idour.

It is hard to remember The Open Championship having three New Zealanders in the field but that is the reality for the 149th edition beginning on July 15.

Ryan Fox, Danny Lee and Daniel Hillier will tee it up at Royal St George’s Golf Club situated at Sandwich Bay, a long sweeping inlet on the east coast of Kent in England.

Travelers Championship - Round OneCROMWELL, CONNECTICUT - JUNE 24: Danny Lee of New Zealand plays his shot from the 15th tee during the first round of the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands on June 24, 2021 in Cromwell, Connecticut. (Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images) — Travelers Championship - Round One
CROMWELL, CONNECTICUT - JUNE 24: Danny Lee of New Zealand plays his shot from the 15th tee during the first round of the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands on June 24, 2021 in Cromwell, Connecticut. (Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images)

Lee, who’s recent form has been anything but inspiring, qualified through a good finish at the 2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational. He will be looking to expunge the memory of his embarrassing melt down and walk off at last year's US Open when he still had an opportunity for a good finish.

MUNICH, GERMANY - JUNE 25: Ryan Fox of New Zealand on the 13th tee during the second round of The BMW International Open at Golfclub Munchen Eichenried on June 25, 2021 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)

Fox qualified as a result of his impressive form in winning the Australasian order of merit. Some of his best play in Europe has been on links courses so he will hope to emulate that this time.

Open de Bretagne - Day Four PLENEUF VAL ANDRE - JUNE 27: Daniel Hillier of New Zealand plays his first shot on the 1st hole during Day Four of the Open de Bretagne at Golf Bluegreen de Pleneuf Val Andre on June 27, 2021 in Pleneuf, France. (Photo by Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images) — Open de Bretagne - Day Four
PLENEUF VAL ANDRE - JUNE 27: Daniel Hillier of New Zealand plays his first shot on the 1st hole during Day Four of the Open de Bretagne at Golf Bluegreen de Pleneuf Val Andre on June 27, 2021 in Pleneuf, France. (Photo by Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images)

On the other hand Daniel Hillier, who is relatively new on the international circuit, had to win his place through a nerve wracking qualifier recently completed. Currently having some good results on the European Challenge Tour, he produced his best form to win the final qualifier at Hollinwell in Nottinghamshire.

His first round 64 contained an impressive 10 birdies and featured a remarkable run of five birdies from the 13th hole. A solid 69 second round with a final hole birdie, clinched a one shot victory. This will be his second major, having played in the US Open.

Hillier said: “I got on a good run and just tried to keep it going as long as I could. It’s a dream come true. I’ve always wanted to play in major championships, so I’m really excited.”

After his experience at the US Open where he failed to make the cut he will be keen to go one better and be one of the 70 plus ties who play the weekend.

This will be the 15th time the Open has been held at Royal St George’s and the course, which measures 7189 yards (6583m) and is in the midst of salt marshes, sand flats and sand dunes, is in a perfect setting for links golf.

In preparation for The Open, alterations have been made to the course. Watch out for holes four and seven where two large bunkers have been restored, while on 17 two large bunkers to the left have been replaced by a swale.

The last time the event was held at Royal St George's was in 2011 when Darren Clarke won, while the current defending champion is Shane Lowry. Expert (?) pundits have him at 40-1 odds while they have installed Jon Rahm as favourite and are picking Justin Thomas to do well

Editor’s note: The last time New Zealand had more than two Kiwis in the field was in 2009 when Michael Campbell, David Smail, Mark Brown and Josh Geary played at Turnberry.