Vijay Singh returns home to Fiji this week determined to claim a first European Tour win in eight years.
Beautiful Natadola Bay Golf Course plays host to a European Tour event for the first time as the Fiji International takes its place on the International Schedule co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour of Australasia.
As Fiji's biggest global sports star, Singh is an enthusiastic supporter of his country's biggest sporting event and has a fine record, finishing in the top ten in both 2014 and 2015.
The 53 year old is a 13-time winner on the European Tour with his last victory coming at the 2008 Bridgestone Invitational, although his last regular win came seven years before that at the Caltex Singapore Masters.
He has proved this season he can still mix it at the top level with two top tens on the US PGA Tour and, if he were to win this week, he would become the oldest winner in European Tour history by over three years, beating the record of Miguel Angel Jiménez.
"It's been almost a year since I've been back [to Fiji]," he said. "There has been a lot of progress on the golf course itself so that was good news and I'm looking forward to getting started.
I'm really happy with my game. I'm striking the ball the way I want to, I just need to get some results and hopefully that can start over here - Vijay Singh
"I've been playing well for a while. My game's good. The scoring is not so good but I'm really happy with my game. I'm striking the ball the way I want to, I just need to get some results and hopefully that can start over here.
"This year I've been giving a lot more attention to the golf and a little less to the design side. I used to come over here and see what I could fix but this year I'm more focused on just playing the tournament and we'll see if I can pull it off."
American Boo Weekley is making his debut at the event at this week and is excited by the challenge posed by an island golf course. Conditions are notoriously windy in the Pacific paradise but Weekley is looking forward to testing his skills.
"It's going to be a fun week," he said. "My golf game is a little shaky but we can probably figure it out here in a couple of days. We've got today and tomorrow to get it back to where I think I might be able to contend.
"The golf course is awesome. It's got so many elevation changes to the point where you've got to be careful. Hitting it too high up in the air, the wind can blow it off into a hazard.
"It's a great layout. I thought they did a good job and the greens are perfect for the size of the golf course."
I could get used to living here! That's perfect! That's happy golfing - Boo Weekley
There is a very special prize on offer this week, with a hole-in-one on Sunday at the 13th giving the player a 1619 square-metre block of land at Natadola Bay Land Estates worth 330,000 euros.
Weekley has already been fishing and snorkelling as he makes the most of his time in Fiji, and he will be going out for an ace on Sunday, whether he is contending or not.
"That would be cool, I could get used to living here!" he said. "That's perfect! That's happy golfing.
"I'll be focusing on the hole-in-one, I'll be going for a hole-in-one."
