Published July 17, 2008 on August 1, 2018

Ernie Els and Vijay Singh to Headline the Fiji International

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The Fiji International presented by Fiji Airways starting on Thursday will feature two former world number ones namely South African Ernie Els, who is also a four-time Major champion and Vijay Singh, a three-time Major champion and one of Fiji’s greatest sportsmen.

‘The Big Easy’  who is looking forward to a memorable debut at the event will also cast his eye on the performances of potential international team members, having been named as Captain of the International Team for next year’s Presidents Cup.

Els, a honorary Asian Tour member will also have the company of his wife and his daughter at the picturesque Natadola Bay Championship Golf Course as he attempts to live up to his billing as one of the headline acts this week.

“I got my wife and my daughter here and my caddie Casey from the U.S and we got here early yesterday morning.  I’ve never been to Fiji and I wanted to have a little bit of holiday if it’s possible around the golf tournament, so it’s great to be here.

“I haven’t been the headline act for a while so it’s kind of a bit different for me than the last couple years. But my great friend Vijay (Singh) is here and hopefully, we can play together at some point this week,” said Els.

Singh who is nicknamed ‘the Big Fijian’, and who was greeted by the presence of his good friend Ernie Els, might hold a slight advantage over the rest of the field, having played a major role in the re-design of the course which was finalised just before the 2017 edition.

The Hall of Famer said, “I’m looking forward to the week. I’m seeing the changes that I’ve made on this course and it’s coming in really well. Everything I hear right now is all raves, so I’m all excited. I’ve known him (Ernie) for a long, long time.  We played together in Europe when he first came and we just kind of stayed as friends.

Singh plans on revisiting his friendship with Els over a couple of drinks and reminisces about the golf course that they did together in Malaysia. He also hoped that the event could encourage more Fijians to get interested in golf and to attract more tourists to his lovely island of Fiji

“This event is going to over 40 countries and they can see how beautiful this place is. Hopefully, they can attract a lot more visitors and people who want to come and invest here,” he added.

In his capacity as Captain of the International Team, Els also talked about the number of promising young players coming out of Asia and Australia currently.

“I’m fortunate that I’m an honorary member of the Asian Tour and I play some events on the Asian Tour so I can keep my eye on some of the youngsters coming through.

“There’s a lot of young, young blood coming through from Asia and Australia and I’ve got to keep my eye on them, and playing in events like this allows me to see how their games are progressing,” said Els.

The tournament will also feature a host of international players including reigning Asian Tour Order of Merit champion Gavin Green of Malaysia, Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond and Zimbabwean Scott Vincent.

Green who has been playing on the European Tour since the Maybank Championship in February returns to the Asian Tour this week and is happy to be reacquainted with old friends.

“There are obviously a lot of good players this week but I am looking forward to it. This is my first Asian Tour event since I last played in Malaysia in February and it’s good to catch up with old friends and play well again,” said Green who is hoping for an improved performance having held a share of the halfway lead last year

Japan’s Masahiro Kawamura, who emerged as the highest placed Asian Tour member at the recently concluded Open Championship in tied-39th place, will be among those looking to impress Els as he also makes his debut at the Fiji International presented by Fiji Airways, which being tri-sanctioned by the Asian Tour European Tour and ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia again.

“My performance at The Open Championship has given me a lot of confidence and I hope to do well again especially in my first visit to Fiji,” said the Japanese.