Wentworth retirement hits Fife golfer Calum Hill's PGA Tour card bid
US-based Fifer Calum Hill is desperate to become a PGA Tour card holder - but he knows that the clock is ticking in his bid to secure that step through the DP World Tour.
Since 2023, 10 cards for the US circuit have been up for grabs through the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai and Kirkcaldy-born golf star Hill, 31, remains in the running in 22nd position despite a big disappointment at the DP World Tour’s flagship event – the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth in Surrey.
Having reached -4 early in his opening round last Thursday before eventually signing for a 71 (-1), the Kirkcaldy-born star had slipped to +2 overall on Friday before retiring after 15 holes with an injury. His fellow Fifer Connor Syme missed the cut after rounds of 75 and 71 also left him +2 at an event ultimately won on Sunday by American JJ Spaun on 271 (-17).
Another 10 DP World Tour players will get PGA Tour cards for next season, with Race to Dubai leader Patrick Reed among those in the prized positions heading into the final few weeks.
It remains to be seen how many cards will remain to be on offer when the PGA Tour changes to a two-tier set up - a Championship Series and Challenger Series - in 2028, with a possibility of the number dropping to five.
“I’ve heard that,” admitted Hill, speaking to The Scotsman as he prepared to tee up in this week’s BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.
“I’ve never not had a drive for it,” he added of a PGA Tour ticket being one of his big goals. “It’s always been on my mind since the beginning, to be honest.
“The goal has always been for me to play on a tour across there. It’s still the goal and I will be giving it my maximum effort every time and see what happens. - that’s all you can do. To secure that reward eventually would be very nice indeed (smiling). It would make things a lot easier and be more convenient.”
Hill’s wife Miranda is American and Hill himself is now a US green card holder, with the couple now based in Arizona with their five-month-old son, Josh.
Helped by his back-to-back second-placed finishes in the Bacpo Energies Bahrain Championship and Qatar Masters, the 31-year-old sits just outside the top 20 in the Race to Dubai and is on course to improve on a career-best 32nd in 2021.
“I’ve been steady,” he said before his retirement at Wentworth. “I’ve always been in a golf tournament. I just need to tidy up a few errors here and there. I said to Stu (Davidson, his caddie) and Grant (Veenstra, his South African coach) that it’s not down to an inability to play the golf shot. It’s more a case of maybe not executing it well enough at that moment.
“In the Irish Open, I had a couple of soft bogeys due to three putts, which is a bit uncharacteristic. I also missed a couple of birdie putts to shoot one under and my golf was definitely better than the score suggested.
“I’m not working on anything too deeply at the moment. It’s just a case of trying to get the playing side a little sharper and score a bit better. One or two shots here and there and, instead of finishing 30th or whatever, you might finish 10th.”