BOGOTÁ, Colombia – Harry Hillier carded a 13-under 59 to break the course record at Club El Rincón de Cajicá in the second round of the Inter Rapidísimo Golf Championship. The club’s original course record was held by George Toone who carded a 9-under 63 during the third round of the 2023 PGA TOUR Latinoamérica Inter Rapidísimo Golf Championship. Hillier holds a five-stroke lead over James Swash and Matthew Anderson heading into Saturday’s third round.

Hillier opened Friday’s round with six consecutive birdies and three pars to post a 6-under 30 on the back-nine. After making the turn to hole No. 1, he repeated this in the same fashion, only this time he would go on to make seven birdies in a row followed by two pars to close out his second nine with a 7-under 29. Hillier’s 13 birdies and five pars posted the first sub-60 round in PGA TOUR Americas history.

The New Zealand native originally posted his lowest score of the season two weeks ago at the KIA Open with a first-round 7-under 65. He paired that score to tie the best finish of his PGA TOUR-sanctioned career (T3/13-under). His only other top-three finish came at the 2023 PGA TOUR Latinoamérica Diners Club Peru Open. That specific finish helped surge Hillier into the top 60 of the Totalplay Cup standings and secure membership into the inaugural season of PGA TOUR Americas.

Hiller dedicated his 13-under par finish to a combination of precision off the tee and accuracy on the greens, saying: “The tee shots suit my eye out here. I can hit it high and far and take on some corners that other people can't. It’s a little bit of an advantage but also you have got to keep it in play, which I did the whole round today. Short game was on and I putted it pretty decent. I made it look pretty easy today.”

Prior to turning professional in 2022, the 24-year-old played collegiately at the University of Kansas for five seasons. He joined his brother, Charlie Hillier, for two seasons as a Jayhawk before Charlie turned professional following his senior season in 2019. Hillier’s top collegiate performances included eight top-5 finishes and two individual victories (The Jackrabbit in 2018, Hawkeye Invitational in 2022). He finished his senior year with a 70.83 scoring average and led his team with a -0.67 average vs. par.

While Hillier’s 59 is his lowest tournament score, he reflects on a job left unfinished: “I haven’t really had a chance to decompress and take it all in. Pretty special moment right now. It almost feels like you’ve won a golf tournament, but you’ve still got two more rounds to go. I’ll enjoy it for 30 minutes and then it’s kind of back to what are we going to do tomorrow. Kind of follow in the footsteps of today.”

After the second round of the Inter Rapidísimo Golf Championship, Hillier is projected to move into the No. 2 position in the Fortinet Cup. The top-two players at the end of the Latin America Swing will earn conditional membership on the Korn Ferry Tour for the 2025 season. Third-round tee times begin at 8:32 a.m. ET and will run until 12:20 p.m. ET off the No. 1 tee on Saturday.

About Harry Hillier (First/17-under)

Age: 24
Birthplace: Te Puke, New Zealand
Residence: Overland Park, Kansas
College: University of Kansas
Fortinet Cup (start of week): 20th

• Born in Te Puke, New Zealand
• Met his caddie, Eduardo Jiménez, in Argentina at a PGA TOUR Latinoamérica event in 2023. Jiménez goes by the nickname “Rulo” and travels around South America with Hillier as his caddie.
• Brother Charlie is also a professional golfer; splits his time on the Korn Ferry Tour and PGA TOUR Americas.
• Majored in general studies at the University of Kansas where he played collegiate golf for five seasons (2018-22).
• Growing up, he and his brother excelled in soccer. Their grandfathers – on both sides – played in the English Premier League, one for Chelsea and one for Fulham.

Competition notes

Course Setup: Par 72 / 7,464 yards; Cumulative average: 71.390
Weather: Cloudy with a high of 70. Wind from the east at 2-7 mph with gusts up to 17 mph.

• New Zealand’s Harry Hillier recorded the first sub-60 score in PGA TOUR Americas history with a 13-under 59 in the second round.
• Five countries are represented in the top five and ties: United States (2), New Zealand (1), England (1), Canada (1) and Argentina (1).
• 60 players made the 3-under par cutline; this ties the 69th ECP Brazil Open with the lowest cutline.
• Matthew Anderson (Canada), the No. 1 player in the Fortinet Cup, carded a second-round 5-under 67 and is tied for second at 12-under.
• With their rounds today, five players are projected to move inside the top 60: T7/Gabriel Morgan-Birke (projected Fortinet Cup: 58th), T12/Blake Tomlinson (projected Fortinet Cup: 53rd), T12/Agustin Errázuriz (projected Fortinet Cup: 49th), T12/Franco Romero (projected Fortinet Cup: 47th) and T25/Martin Contini (projected Fortinet Cup: 55th).
• Abel Gallegos (T7/8-under) leads five Monday Qualifiers who made the cut: Agustin Errázuriz (T12/7-under), Juan Pablo Luna (T25/6-under), Eddy Lai (T42/4-under) and Luis Carrera (T54/3-under).
• Hole 16 – the 183-yard par 3 – was the most challenging hole at Club El Rincón de Cajicá; averaging a +.290.