21 Sep 2016

Sport: Fiji golfer Sam Lee to come out swinging

11:17 am on 21 September 2016

Fiji golfer Sam Lee is hoping this week's South Pacific Open Championship in New Caledonia can start a revival of his on-course fortunes.

The 26 year old made his professional debut 18 months ago at the New Zealand PGA Championship and also competed on home soil at the Fiji International.

But after missing out at qualifying school he has spent the bulk of 2016 at home reshaping his game.

"I''ve had a few ups and downs...I've had just a lot of time just to really figure things out and work out and get my game back to where I want it," he said.

"I've gone through a few swing changes and mental stuff and fitness - that's all I've been doing the last six, seven months. It's so easy to get into bad habits and if you don't really like something for so long you've just got to do it," he said, regarding the alterations to his swing.

"It was doing something very different than what I was doing but obviously not really much when you put it on video. For me, when it feels so different from what I was doing

sometimes it can break your confidence a little bit because you're not really used to doing it."

Sam Lee said after months of practising and playing a few local pro-am events, he's excited to be back on the PGA Australasian Tour in Noumea this week and at next month's Fiji International.

He's the only Fijian in the field at the Tina Golf Club, with all other competitors representing Australia, New Zealand and France.

"I've played the last two days - it's really good. I've played one day in the wind and one day it was really calm so I've kind of played both times, different conditions."

"I try not to focus too much on the outcome but I just go through the process and focus on one shot at a time because that's all you can do really - you can't change the outcome unless you change the process."

Fiji golfer Sam Lee will make his pro debut at the NZ PGA Championship.

Fiji golfer Sam Lee Photo: Twitter / Sam Lee