Dubai golf sensation added another sizeable scalp to his already bulging collection when he secured a wire-to-wire victory at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Amateur Championship at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club.
The win – his second in the prestigious event – means he bags a spot alongside the stars of the DP World Tour in the 2022 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, taking place at Yas Links from January 20-23.
The triumph was by no means a walk in the park for the 17 year old English hot shot. He was level with Denmark’s Frederick Birkelund standing on the 54th and final tee but kept his cool to secure the title with a par while his playing partner could only muster a bogey.
Thomas Wragg caught up with Hill to discuss his latest success in the event he won for the first time in 2019.
Worldwide Golf: Congratulations, you’re the Abu Dhabi Amateur Championship winner once again! Just talk us through about how you’re feeling?
Josh Hill: I’m pretty happy to be off the course now, it was a good battle out there with Fredrick, he came back at me but I managed to hole it in there and get the job done in the end. I hit a pretty poor tee shot (on 18) after seeing Frederick hit a good one. It wouldn’t have been too bad a shot but I had a little bit of tough grass behind it so I had to hack it out, and I hacked out pretty well to put the pressure on him. I thought I holed the putt, I’d prefer to hole the putt than him missing it, but a win is a win.
WWG: It’s your second win in this championship, what does this event mean to you?
JH: I’d like to thank the DP World Tour and the Abu Dhabi Sports Council for giving us the opportunity to play for a spot. Playing the Home Championship where I have lived my whole life is pretty massive and it means a lot to us juniors and everyone that lives here so it’s a great tournament to come back to every year.
WWG: This year the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship will be at Yas Links, what are your thoughts on the course?
JH: I played there before, I’m pretty interested to see how they set it up, I heard it’s in good nick at the moment. I’m looking forward to seeing it and playing it.
WWG: You seem to like the beautiful Saadiyat Beach Golf course, what about is it that suit your game?
JH: I think you can just hit it harder off the tees – depending on where the tees are, you can have wedges or you can have long irons in. I think that helps that myall round game is pretty solid, so, no matter where they put the tees, I feel that it can give me an advantage. I think that is what suits me best here.
WWG: You played in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship in 2020, what have you learned from that going into next year’s event?
JH: I think I’m a better golfer now – I swing it better and I have a lot more control of the ball so that excites me to see where I am at against the best players in the world.
