2018 TOURNAMENT GETS UNDERWAY AT NATADOLA
Local professional golfer Sam Lee was ecstatic yesterday finishing the best of all eight Fijian golfers with two under on a score of 70 in the Fiji International presented by Fiji Airways at the Natadola Bay Championship Golf Club. Coming off with the Fiji Open under his belt, Lee said, he was happy at his first-round score. On his round, Lee said he started off pretty well but knew it was going to be windy so he was mentally prepared, and having played this course a lot of times in the wind, felt he was more comfortable with his play.
“I tried to stay calm, and I got a bit jittery for the first few holes, but yeah, I stayed calm and tried to make as little mistakes as possible,” he said.
Lee felt the strong southerly blowing over the picturesque golf course could actually even scores out.
“Yes, but I mean, here it could be anything really. Some days there’s no wind in the morning and some days it’s just howling like today. “Well, I’ve played here so many times, so I knew the wind was going to be pretty strong. Just expect the wind. And yeah, just try to play calm golf and one shot at a time.”
Lee said the key to overcoming being jittery was to breathe and try to focus on the shot and just calculate how far I have to hit it in the wind.” “I just try to stay in the present.” On his win in the Fiji Open, Lee said he had been playing well all of this year and just trying to get better here and there.
“One of my goals last few years was to win the Fiji Open because that gives an extra spot to the locals.” On today’s second round, Lee says, he needed to be a bit calmer.
As for his eagle on the 17th, Lee said he thought he was in the rough.
“I think I had 164 to the front and I was thinking if I had an 8 iron, if I could just get on the front and roll out, but landed just short of the green and it just stopped a few metres from the hole.
“I had a long putt to the back of the hole and I was trying to get a two putt in. It was just perfect.” Lee scored 35 on the back nine which had a course rating of 36. He scored even on the first two holes then dropped a shot on the third before evening out on the next three holes before dropping one on the next.
Lee recorded birdies on the 13th, then scored another three birdies on the fourth and sixth holes.
OTHERS
Other Fijian golfers who had completed their first rounds wereBill Suguturaga +5 (77), Anasa Seruvatu +5 (77), Tomasi Tuivuna +7 (79), Roneel Prakash +11 (83), Amitesh Chandra +22 (94).