Homecoming Hero

After an absence of eight years, Vijay Singh returned to the islands of his birth to participate in the Fiji International, the first notable professional event to have ever been staged in the country

Singh hopes to establish an academy at Natadola Bay

In returning to Fiji following an eight-year absence, Singh’s homecoming was crucial to promoting the country’s first major tournament, with his attendance drawing crowds from all corners of the island nation.

"I was bumping into people who remembered me from 20 years ago but I can’t say I remembered all of them,” laughs Singh, praising his fellow islanders for coming out in their droves to witness his return. “I received an incredible reception and it was exciting to return and catch up.”

Learning the game under his father’s influence and brotherly affection, a young Singh seldom imagined that 40 years on from empty airport golf ranges and makeshift wooden drivers, his homeland would host a golf tournament of international standing.

Billed as the country’s largest and most acclaimed sporting event, the jointly sanctioned PGA of Australasia and OneAsia event reached, according to organizers, over 400 million people across 30 nations, signalling faith in Fijian infrastructure, economy and people.

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Written by James Henderson

Photography by Photos courtesy of the Fiji International

Click here to see the published article.

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