The ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia has officially opened entries for the Fiji International with players rushing to secure their spot in the tournament.
To be played at the Natadola Bay Championship Golf Course from 6-9 October, Tour Professionals are eager to compete in the tournament with plenty of opportunities on offer.
The Fiji International champion will earn full status on both the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia and European Tour; giving them access to some of the other world’s biggest tournaments.
This makes the Fiji International an attractive tournament for players from all over the world to compete in.
Steven Jeffress, the inaugural Fiji International champion, is the best example of how one win can launch a career. Following his victory at the Fiji International, Jeffress has gone onto compete in two World Golf Championship events.
While the European Tour are yet to open entries for the tournament, star golfers from the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia have already signed on to compete, including:
Daniel Fox
From Western Australia, Daniel Fox turned Professional in 2003 after attending University in America. A regular performer on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia, Fox secured his first Professional victory at the 2015 Western Australian Open. This win came off the back of a good run of performances by Fox after he finished runner-up the week before at the Western Australian PGA Championship. Already this season Fox has recorded a top-10 finish at the Papua New Guinea Open. Fox has competed in the first two Fiji International tournaments and his results are steadily getting better. He finished tied 50th in 2014 which he followed up with a tied 18th finish last year. A fun and friendly player he is always exciting to watch.
Michael Sim
Raised in Western Australia and now based on the Gold Coast, Michael Sim turned Professional in 2005 after being the number 1 amateur golfer in the world. Throughout his career, Sim has been inside the top-50 players in the world and competed alongside Tiger Woods at the U.S. Open. He has won four times on the Web.com Tour in the United States and also competed on the PGA TOUR. While he has achieved much success in his career it is surprising that Sim has not recorded a victory on his home Tour; the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia. The Fiji International will provide him with a good opportunity to change that. Sim has finished inside the top-10 both times he has competed at the Fiji International and comes into this year’s tournament in good form having recording two top-10 finishes in the five tournaments he has played in 2016.
Brad Moules
From South Australia Brad Moules has just launched his Professional career and has enjoyed immediate success. After training to become a qualified golf coach, Moules decided to turn his attention to playing golf competitively. He attended the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia Qualifying School at the start of 2016 where he finished just outside the top-20 which earned playing privileges for this season. In just his seventh start on the Tour, Moules secured his first Professional victory at the Papua New Guinea Open. 2016 will be Moules’ first time competing at the Fiji International and while the intricacies of Natadola Bay Championship Golf Course can be hard to learn in your first time competing, Moules has proven he has the talent to win early in his career.
A strong field is anticipated to tee it up in the Fiji International this year thanks to the new co-sanctioning relationship between the European Tour and ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia.
We look forward to announcing more players, including the international stars, for the 2016 tournament in the coming weeks.