DP World Tour News Article
Last updated Thursday 8th October 2026.
The New Zealander holed his tee-shot with an eight iron at the 187-yard par-three 17th during his first round at Real Club de Campo Villa de Madrid on Thursday.
The highlight of an opening four-under-par 67 in the Spanish capital, Hillier later admitted he didn’t initially see the result as his ball pitched pin high and took one hop to the left and rolled into the hole.
“It was pretty crazy,” he said.
“To be honest, I toed it quite a bit. Wasn’t too happy with the strike.
“I was telling it to go the whole way, but it kind of hung in the air for a little bit longer than I thought. And then, yeah, heard some cheers.
“Obviously, you can’t see the bottom of the hole from the tee, so yeah, saw everyone jump up at the back of the grandstand there.
“A little bit of disbelief for a while, but it’s nice to see it go in.”
His hole-in-one, which he believes is the fifth of his professional career and his favourite, is another moment of success for the 28-year-old in 2026.
In March, he won his national open days after getting married to his long-time partner, Siobhan.
He can now look forward to a new car, with the first professional to make a hole-in-one at the 17th claiming the all-electric SUV BMW, valued at €140,338.
“I didn’t realise a car was on offer,” he added.
“I’ve locked it up pretty early, but absolutely stoked and very grateful.
“Yeah, it’s going to be a long drive though [to New Zealand], I know that much.
“[The year] just keeps getting better. Hopefully I can continue that for another couple of months.”
