For the 27-year-old from Wellington, there is plenty to play for as he is currently in the hunt for a PGA Tour card through the DP World Tour, where the top 10 players in the standings at the end of the season who don’t already have a PGA Tour card are granted one. Coming into this week’s tournament, Hillier sat 12th in that list.
Elsewhere, Fox recovered from a shaky first round to likely sneak into the weekend on the cut line.
Fox finished at one-over in his first round to sit well down the leaderboard but shot up 45 places after his second-round effort as he carded a blemish-free three-under 69.
The 38-year-old, who won the event in 2023, sat in a tie for 61st and looked set to make his way into the weekend by the barest of margins.
On the LPGA Tour, Dame Lydia Ko enjoyed a strong second round in the Kroger Queen City Championship, moving 18 spots up the leaderboard with a three-under 69 to sit in a tie for 27th after two rounds.
It wasn’t without some late disappointment for the Hall of Famer. Going five-under through 16 holes, a double bogey on the par-four 17th limited her move up the leaderboard.
She goes into the weekend sitting at five-under for the US tournament, while fellow Kiwi Fiona Xu withdrew from the event.
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.