Dubai-born sensation Josh Hill is one step closer to making his Major Championship debut after coming through U.S. Open Local Qualifying at Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at Silver Lakes.
The youngster, who is in his sophomore year at the University of Tennessee, carded a four under par 68 in Alabama to finish in share of second, just one shot behind Steven Diliso’s fiver under, to secure one of the five places available in Final Qualifying for the third Major of the year.
Final Qualifying is played over 36 holes in a single day and is known as Golf's Longest Day.
Roughly the top 7.5% advance to the U.S. Open. The exact number of players to advance from each site is determined by the number of players and the strength of each site’s field. In 2023, 64 out of 878 players qualified for the U.S. Open.
If Hill were to qualify to compete against the likes of Rory McIlory, Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler and Tommy Fleetwood at Pinehurst No.2 next month, it wouldn’t be the first time the golfing prodigy has rubbed shoulders with the greats of the game.
The Englishman has played the Dubai Desert Classic and Abu Dhabi Championship a combined four times and made the cut at both events in 2022.
He also holds the record of the youngest winner ever of an Official World Golf Ranking-recognised professional tournament, after he won the 2019 Al Ain Open with a final-round 62 on the MENA Tour in Dubai by one shot.
Aged 15 years, six months and 27 days, he beat the previous record, set by Ryo Ishikawa in 2007, by a whole two months.
