Calum Hill's Journey from WNMU Golf to DP World Tour Glory

    When Calum Hill first arrived in Silver City, New Mexico, few could have imagined the incredible path his golf career would take. A standout student-athlete for the Western New Mexico University men's golf team, Calum quickly made his mark as one of the most accomplished players in program history — and has since gone on to shine on the world stage as a two-time winner on the DP World Tour.

    A native of Kinross, Scotland, Calum joined the Mustangs in 2012 as a walk-on and immediately shone through as a starter for the team. During his freshman season at WNMU, he helped elevate the men's golf program and was named to the all - Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) team with an impressive 74.16 scoring average. During his sophomore season, the team reached national prominence within NCAA Division II competition by qualifying for the 2014 NCAA National Championships and Hill played a large part in their national ranking of 7th that year. In his Junior year, Hill reached new heights by being named the RMAC Player of the Year, RMAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year and on the All-South Central Region team to go with a 73.13 Scoring Average; alongside a 3.91 GPA. His Senior year (2015-16) would at the time, be the greatest season of any men's golfer in the history of WNMU. Hill qualified as an individual for the NCAA National Championships and had an incredible 2nd place finish at -11 to cap off an outstanding year, in which he was named second team All-American as well as RMAC Player of the Year again and the individual RMAC Champion.

    Western New Mexico Golf Coach Emeritus Kent Beatty proved critical in identifying Calum's talent and said: "Calum's journey is truly a dream come true. He arrived at Silver City as a walk-on with limited tournament experience and left as the most decorated athlete in school history, all because he was a talented athlete, but more importantly because he was extremely coachable. He was a sponge that took every experience ... good or bad ... and he learned from it." Hill graduated in 2016 with his bachelor's degree in Accounting and stayed on to complete his master's degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Information Systems while being the team's Graduate Assistant Coach. During this time, Hill competed in a number of local events as a professional, having immediate success on the pro-stage. Hill won the San Juan Open by a record 9 shots in 2017 with an incredible score of -21 and followed that up by winning the Arizona Open a couple months later in a distinguished field to firmly establish himself on the national stage. The highlight of Hill's Career to this point came in the summer of 2018 as he advanced through two stages of US Open Qualifying to earn a spot at Shinnecock Hills in the 118th U.S Open and made the two round cut at +4 in a tie for 14th place. He went on to end the week in 61st position and only continued to improve from there.

    Calum Hill on his experience at WNMU: "I absolutely loved being at Western and two weeks into being in Silver, I was already asking Coach to be an assistant coach and stay for two more years!" "My personal highlights were always the trips with the team as I loved spending time with my teammates as well as both of our national championship appearances, especially during the D2 Festival in my senior year."

    Hill's rapid rise through the professional ranks continued with three wins in quick succession on the HotelPlanner Tour, the feeder tour to the DP World Tour, helping him to earn his tour card at the end of the 2019 season. Hill entered the top 100 in the World Rankings with his first DP World Tour Victory at the Cazoo Classic in 2021 at the London Club, England and excelled onto the world golfing stage. Competing against the world's best golfers, Calum has showcased not only his remarkable talent but also the composure, resilience, and leadership he first honed as a Mustang. Hill followed the victory up with more consistent finishes on the DP World Tour over the next few seasons, before proving victorious once again in March of this year at the Joburg Open in South Africa with a superb final round 62 and a playoff-victory.

    Reflecting on his journey, Beatty remarked, "Of course he (Hill) had raw talent, but his gift was the ability to have a very short term memory. Golf is an extremely taxing sport mentally because one day you can hit the ball beautifully and the next you can be awful. Calum took those ups-and-downs in stride and he never saw anything but the next shot, be it from the fairway or behind a bush, as a chance for birdie."

    Not only was Hill a leader on the course, he was also a leader in the WNMU community and gained the admiration of Beatty and his teammates: "He was just a good guy that was loved by everyone, from his teammates, to his professors and the cafeteria staff. People paid attention to who he was and how he was doing."  "That continues today on tour. As a multiple Tour winner, he's a great representative of WNMU and he's never forgotten where he came from and comes back to visit when he's not competing."

    Commenting on his pathway, Calum stated: "I really enjoyed WNMU, which is why my 6 years went by so quickly, and the environment at the school and the competitive spirit made it easy for me to keep getting better and develop as a person and a golfer."  It is clear that Calum's experience at Western New Mexico University played a defining role in shaping his career. The lessons learned in Silver City — from early mornings on the practice range to the lifelong friendships forged with teammates and Coach Beatty — continue to influence his approach to competition and life.

    Today, Calum Hill proudly carries the Mustang spirit onto golf's global stage, representing what it means to be a WNMU alumnus: driven, humble, and relentless in the pursuit of excellence.

Be sure to check back next week for our next WNMU Athletics alumni feature.