New Zealander golfer Daniel Pearce tops the leaderboard after firing a 6 under par 66 in the opening round of the Fiji International.
New Zealand's Daniel Pearce leads after the opening round at Natadola Bay. Photo: PGA of Australia
Playing in the afternoon field, Pearce mixed six birdies, two bogeys and an eagle and holds a one shot lead overnight from fellow New Zealander Ben Campbell and Australian Daniel Valente.
"I holed a really nice putt on the first hole for birdie which got the momentum in the right direction," said Pearce.
"I managed to birdie 11 as well and made a couple of good up and downs through the back-9 to save par.
"I birdied 17 and then had a bit of a run through the front-9, the first four holes. It was just a lot of good golf."
Malaysia's Gavin Green is tied four fourth with three Australians at four under par.
Vijay Singh was the best placed local after the opening round. Photo: PGA of Australia
Vijay Singh is the best-placed Fijian at Natadola Bay - he's in a share of 24th place at one under par, while fellow major winners Angel Cabrera and Mike Weir are both even par.
Another Fijian pro Dinesh Chand is two shots back after an opening round 73, while local amateurs Abid Hussain and Apenisa Koroicure found the going tough and are currently propping up the leaderboard at 10 and 20 over par respectively.
