DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES | Josh Hill signed autographs and smiled as he posed for pictures following his final round of the Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic. “The Red Brigade” – an army of vocal, local supporters wearing red colours and associated with his home club Trump International Dubai – had also descended at the Majlis course.
It was no normal Sunday. After all, the 17-year-old Dubai-born amateur, who is part of England Golf’s boys team, was featuring in his second consecutive weekend in a DP World Tour Rolex Series event. So, when he finished the round playing alongside 2019 Open champion Shane Lowry and Frenchman Romain Langasque, you expected him to be emotional.
There was no celebration of his remarkable achievement, and as he spoke to the local media after his round, his eyes welled up a couple of times.
It was because Hill was grieving. On Saturday evening, the local golfing circle was shocked by the news of the tragic death of Viggo Sørensen, a popular junior player who had played countless club events with Hill.
Someone asked Hill if he could put his finger on one reason why he made a double bogey and five bogeys on the front nine?
“I know what the reason was, but I can’t talk about it. It’s just a very sad reason,” he said.
After three solid rounds, including a 3-under-par 69 on Saturday which matched the second-best round of the day after Lowry’s 68, Hill was tied 23rd at 3-under par going into Sunday’s final round.
As tough as he tried to act on the golf course, even his unquestionable golf skills could not conquer his mind.
In a few days, Hill will look back with a great sense of pride on what he achieved – tied 55th in Dubai and tied 58th a week ago in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.
The question everyone is asking, and that included the new Dubai champion Viktor Hovland, is about his future plans – whether he wants to pursue college golf, or is he planning to turn pro?
It’s a conundrum that Hill is planning to crack in the next few months.
“Both options look very good right now,” he added. “I may be leaning a bit towards the college route. I have a couple of tournaments left and I want to concentrate on those. I will weigh up my options and decide soon.”
Hill plays the Saudi International next week as one of the invited leading amateurs.
Joy Chakravarty