Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre may still within sight of the Ryder Cup team – but so too is his friend and stablemate Calum Hill.
The Perthshire player, who took his maiden European Tour victory at the Cazoo Classic in Kent last month, can leapfrog everyone – if he wins the last qualifying event at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth this week.
It would be a remarkable feat, and one the 26-year-old Gleneagles pro is trying not to factor into his thinking. But European team captain Padraig Harrington is well aware of what might happen.
Harrington has his eye on Hill
In this week's player blog @CalumHill_golf shares his journey from assistant college golf coach to European Tour winner.@UKEnterprise
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) August 29, 2021
“It’s a big week this week,” said the Irishman. “If you come down here and deliver under that pressure, that’s exactly what you want in the Ryder Cup.
“The problem for Calum is he knows that he is in if he wins this week. So he is teeing up under pressure, the same as he would be if he was leading a tournament on the Sunday.
“But if he can deliver under that pressure, he is more than welcome in my team.”
Hill hasn’t spoken to the skipper as yet.
“I think I’m so far out of the spectrum of what you’d expect, I haven’t had a word with him,” he said.
“I have a chance. A small chance. It’s one in 156 isn’t it, but it’s a chance and that is all you can ask for.
“That’s what you are here for, to try and win. It’s what you turn up every week for.
“If I manage to pull it off, good things will then happen.”
‘I’ve only got one option’
He’s one of 11 players who can outright qualify with a win, but he feels under no extra pressure.
“I’d have to say it would be more pressurised if you were needing a Top 20 finish or something like that as opposed to just finishing first.
“I’ve only got one option. I wouldn’t say it is the forefront of my mind, it’d be a consequence of good play.
“For example, looking at the guys who are on the bubble who just need a certain thing and it’s not really that big a deal as they should do it all the time. Under pressure, can you finish in that area?
“I’d say that gives more pressure than someone like me just rocking up and saying: If you win, you get it.
“I’ve never even been to a Ryder Cup. I’d obviously love to go. If not this one, the enxt one definitely.”
‘Everything is gradually improving’
With the man himself, @davidburnsgolf https://t.co/XyQfmyqoeo
— Calum Hill (@CalumHill_golf) July 10, 2021
It’s also asking a lot because this is Calum’s first shot around Wentworth’s West Course, a place that it’s assumed you need experience to thrive on.
“This year has been steady, just trying to continue with improvement and getting better,” he said. “That seems to be working through the year, everything is gradually improving.
“I never set myself targets or markers or goals. I just don’t think I’m that good at pre-planning. Obviously, I’m trying to win every season and win as much as I can. That is everyone’s goal.
“But in terms of little stepping stones, I’m not sure. Maybe I will when the game becomes about more minute margins. When you get to the upper Top 50, incremental little changes make big differences. That might be a time to set little step goals.”
Perthshire’s Calum Hill fulfils expectation with his first European Tour title