Kiwi duo Hillier and Miya set the pace at NZ Open

John Salvado | February 27, 2026

DP World Tour star Daniel Hillier and fellow Kiwi Yuki Miya share a one-stroke lead after the completion of the rain-interrupted first round of the $A1.69 million NZ Open at Millbrook Resort.

Hillier and Miya were among a large group of players who had to front up early on Friday morning to complete their opening rounds after heavy overnight rain caused a three-hour delay to the start of play on Thursday.

The newly-married Hillier was five under through 13 holes and added another three birdies on Friday to sign for a flawless eight-under 63 on the more difficult Coronet course.

Hillier has made a flying start to his 2026 campaign on the DP World Tour with top-five finishes in Dubai and Bahrain.

The 27-year-old also finished inside the top 10 late last year at the Australian PGA and the Australian Open.

Amateur star Miya carded his 63 on the Remarkables course.

Since 2003, the only New Zealander to win the national Open was Michael Hendry in 2017.

Overnight leader Mathias Sanchez of Australia was in outright second spot at seven under, a shot clear of five-time PGA Tour winner Kevin Na from the United States, Australian Wade Ormsby and South Korea’s Doyeob Mun.

LIV Golf star Lucas Herbert and defending champion Ryan Peake both made up some ground on the field late in their final rounds on Friday morning.

Herbert improved to one under with a strong finish.

And after slipping out to three over at one stage during his opening round, Peake had three birdies in his final 11 holes to get it back to level par.

With 156 professionals and 156 amateurs spread across the two courses at the 36-hole Millbrook Resort, it seems unlikely all players will complete their second rounds on Friday.

The projected halfway cut is level par.