Calum Hill in BMW mix thanks to Stuart Barton 'magic' and Wobbly back on bag

Add Calum Hill’s name to the long list of sportspeople - not to mention the odd celebrity - to be sorted out by Stuart Barton’s magic hands. A couple of weeks after visiting the Fife-based physiotherapist for back treatment, the Scot is in contention at the halfway stage in the BMW International Open in Munich.

Calum Hill and experienced caddie Phil 'Wobbly' Morbey weigh up the Scot's second shot in the second round of the BMW International Open at Golfclub Munchen Eichenried. Picture; Stuart Franklin/Getty Images.

With Phil ‘Wobbly’ Morbey, one of the most experienced caddies in the game, on his bag at the start of a second spell with Hill, the 28-year-old produced a four-under-par 68, an impressive effort in a gusting wind for the second round at Golfclub München Eichenried, to sit just four shots off the clubhouse lead, held by Kiwi Daniel Hillier.

Following polished opening efforts of 68-67, 2022 Challenge Tour graduate Hillier leads by one from young Dane Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, who is making his DP World Tour debut, with Dutchman Joost Luiten, helped by a hole-in-one at the eighth – his 17th – a further shot back.

Three weeks ago, Hill had also been looking forward to making his presence felt in the final two rounds of the Porsche European Open in Hamburg only to see his race cut short. “I just bent over to put something in a travel case, came back up and it felt a bit tight and for the next ten minutes completely seized,” he recalled of what had led to him being forced to withdraw before the third circuit.

Bob MacIntyre has recovered from a poor front nine on Thursday to feeling confident about his game heading into the weekend at Golfclub Munchen Eichenried. Picture: Stuart Franklin/Getty Images.

“I saw the boys in the physio truck on tour then I saw Dingers [Ian Dingwall, the DP World Tour physio] for a couple of days and everyone kind of said it was probably a bulge on my lowest disc which was hitting a nerve and causing everything to seize up.”

On returning home, Iain Stoddart, Hill’s manager, suggested a visit to Barton at his Anstruther clinic to see if he could speed up the recovery process and, though needing pain-killers at the moment, Hill has been able to go about his business so far this week without any problems.

“Stoddy fixed up a couple of sessions with Barty and he’s kind of realigned me,” said Hill. “I’ve had lots of exercises from everyone to try and strengthen and prevent more damage. But, according to what Barty and everyone else said, I’d feel okay in a couple of weeks, which is the case, and in six weeks it will heal and I’ll be able to play through it.”

Eight-time European No 1 Colin Montgomerie was treated in the past by Barton on the strength of a recommendation from Scottish rugby legend Gavin Hastings, with former Ireland and British Lions stand-off Brian O’Driscoll also among those to have posted client testimonials on his website. Oh, and singing superstar Charlotte Church also had her back ‘fixed’ by him.

Connor Syme talks tactics with his caddie Ryan McGuigan on day two of the BMW International Open in Munich. Picture: Stuart Franklin/Getty Images.

“I went in there and saw all the Scottish and English rugby players he’d sorted out. There’s also some amount of golfers, including Monty and Darren Clarke and lots of other old and new players. He’s renowned as doing a proper job,” said Hill.

Which brings us nicely to the aforementioned Morbey, the man who caddied for Ian Woosnam when the Welshman won The Masters in 1991 and also worked for Jose Maria Olazabal, Darren Clarke and Thomas Bjorn among others. In their first event together, Hill recorded a top-five finish behind Dustin Johnson in the 2021 Saudi International before a permanent partnership was short-lived.

But they’ve now been reunited and Hill, who landed his maiden DP World Tour win in the 2021 Cazoo Classic before missing most of last season due to a niggling nerve issue, is excited about what their second spell can produce.

“The results were good when we worked together in the past,” said the Crook of Devon-based player. “Lately, I just felt I wasn’t scoring as well as I could. Some players need more guidance and some need less. I think I’m one that needs more guidance and he provides the high spectrum of that level of guidance. He takes you around a golf course and all the shots he chooses are the right ones. You just have to execute them. It takes the stress out of it as you don’t need to think very much.

“Basically at the moment, all I feel I need to do is worry about my putting and chipping because that is on me and the rest is just ‘hit that shot’ and I’m cool with that.”

Hill was left with a hole to play in his opening round when the action was halted on Thursday evening due to a thunderstorm sweeping in from the west, with the skies above Munich being lit up almost constantly for around two hours. It meant Hill faced an earlier rise on Friday morning than he’d anticipated, but that didn’t seem to do him any harm.

“Having to come back this morning wasn’t ideal when it was raining and blowing sideways,” he said, smiling, “but, actually when it was raining, I played really well for kind of the first six holes and then just kept it going.

“Little scrappy in the middle, when I had to get up and down a couple of times - one from 50 yards and one from 70 yards. It wasn’t as though it was stress-free, but I played well. I’ve been good off the tee and my iron play is good. I also managed to make a couple of putts today after having a few three-putts yesterday, so it balanced out well. It was a good round.”

Connor Syme and Bob MacIntyre both progressed comfortably on two-under. In MacIntyre’s case, it was a gutsy effort after he’d gone out in four-over in the first round. “A lot has changed in the last week and a half,” he said of having replaced both his coach and caddie. “I didn’t trust what I was doing on my first nine yesterday and almost backed myself into a corner where I had to come out punching.”

Four birdies on the back nine then four more in the second circuit was more like it. “I struck it well and controlled my ball flight. I like to move it about. I play my best golf ball when I move it around and that’s what I’ve done the last round and a half,” he added.

“There’s a big shinty game this weekend (his beloved Oban Celtic are taking on Strathglass) and I think my dad probably had me pencilled in after nine holes yesterday (laughing) but being here for the weekend is massive for my confidence.”