Harry Hillier cards first 59 in PGA TOUR Americas history

The first sub-60 score in PGA TOUR Americas history belongs to Harry Hillier.

Hillier carded a second-round, 13-under 59 at the Inter Rapidísimo Golf Championship, the final event of the Latin America Swing before the circuit breaks for roughly a month into the North America Swing.

Hillier’s round was nearly flawless. Beginning on No. 10 at Club El Rincón de Cajicá in Bogota, Colombia, he rattled off six straight birdies from the jump. He cooled off, comparatively speaking, with three straight pars to turn in 6-under 30. Then he began his second nine (the front nine) with seven straight birdies before closing with back-to-back pars at the club’s tough eighth and ninth holes to secure a sub-60 round.

It's been a season of low scores on PGA TOUR Pathways circuits. Chile’s Cristobal Del Solar carded an opening-round 57 at the Korn Ferry Tour’s Astara Golf Championship presented by Mastercard (also in Bogota) in February. South Africa’s Aldrich Potgieter shot 59 in the same event, and Minnesota native Frankie Capan III carded a 58 at last month’s Veritex Bank Championship, also on the Korn Ferry Tour.

Hillier entered this week at No. 20 on the season-long Fortinet Cup standings, comfortably inside the top 60 to earn full status for the North America Swing. There’s another carrot available this weekend, though: The top two on the Fortinet Cup after the Inter Rapidísimo Golf Championship will earn conditional Korn Ferry Tour status at minimum for 2025.

After completing his second-round 59 in Bogota, Hillier led the event by five strokes over James Swash and was projected to move to No. 2 on the Fortinet Cup with a victory.

The top 10 on the season-long Fortinet Cup (comprising the Latin America Swing and North America Swing) will earn 2025 Korn Ferry Tour membership as well. The inaugural PGA TOUR Americas season synthesizes two previous PGA TOUR Pathways circuits, PGA TOUR Canada and PGA TOUR Latinoamerica, into one cumulative series.

Hillier, 24, played collegiately at the University of Kansas and is a third-year pro. He arrived in Colombia with momentum from a T3 finish at the KIA Open in the most recent PGA TOUR Americas event two weeks ago, which followed a solid T18 at the Diners Club Peru Open. The New Zealand native played on PGA TOUR Latinoamérica last season, finishing No. 31 on the season-long standings with eight made cuts in 12 starts, highlighted by a pair of top-five showings.

Hillier’s brother Charlie, three years older, also plays professional golf. Charlie Hillier currently splits time between the Korn Ferry Tour and PGA TOUR Americas, and he's competing at this week’s AdventHealth Championship on the Korn Ferry Tour.

Safe to say that upon checking his younger brother’s score Friday afternoon, he liked what he saw.