Josh Hill: You know about Akshay Bhatia, time to meet the next in line
Akshay Bhatia made news in 2019 playing in his debut at the Valspar Open at the age of 17. There is a new phenom on the rise who goes by the name of Josh Hill. His age? Just 15 years old.
To start with, this isn’t a roast of Akshay Bhatia. The kid is incredible, there is no doubt about that. Here in the States, it’s likely that we just haven’t heard of Josh Hill.
He plays overseas and just won the Abu Dhabi Amateur Championship at the insanely young age of 15. It wasn’t even the first time he won an important event, as he previously won the Al Ain Open, which is on the Mena Tour, in October. This made him the youngest ever winner of a tournament that the OWGR recognizes. The previous record-holder was Ryo Ishikawa. Hill bested him by being two months younger.
When he won the Al Ain Open, that earned him a spot in the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, which tees off on January 23rd. After winning the Amateur Championship, he has earned a spot in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, which takes place on January 16th.
https://twitter.com/ADGolfChamps/status/1207250171547004929
Yes, you are reading that correctly. Josh Hill is going to be playing in back to back events on the European Tour. He will still only be 15 years old, as he doesn’t turn 16 until the end of March in 2020.
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It isn’t like Josh Hill has been on a recent hot streak either, one that you might chalk up to being flukey. The kid is a machine, as he won eight(!) events over a three-month span in 2018. That feat earned him the Emirates Golf Federation Order of Merit.
Josh Hill has won double-digit events before most kids have even started driving a car. Heck, he is probably more accomplished already than most people are in their lifetimes.
Although it is an incredible accomplishment, there is still a lot of work to do for Josh Hill. We have seen plenty of “phenoms” or “the next Tiger Woods” show up on our golf radar over the years. Very few of them have even been able to make it on Tour, and more often than not it seems that they flame out.
Whether it is due to pressure, seeing too much success too early and thinking it is going to be easy, or just losing the joy of playing a sport because it got too serious too fast, there are a lot of roadblocks that can change the course of these young kid’s career.
Next. European Ryder Cup Team of the Decade for the 2010’s. dark
Really, when we look at where they are, and as we look at what they accomplish, I think that is what we need to remember about them. They are still kids. Let’s treat them that way. Best of luck to Josh Hill, and to him being able to have a long and successful career in golf.