Caption: Sanasana Rugby Team players pose together with Brian Thorburn, CEO of PGA Australia in their newly sponsored jerseys. Photo: SUPPLIED.
Thursday April 2, 2015. The Sanasana Rugby Team will be wearing new jerseys in 2015 thanks to the support of the Fiji International.
Flying in from Australia, Brian Thorburn, CEO of the PGA of Australia, was on hand to present the new jerseys to a very grateful Sanasana team.
Showing their appreciation, the team treated Thorburn to a thanksgiving ceremony inside the newly completed Sanasana Chief Bure.
“We are very grateful for the Sanasana Rugby Team jerseys sponsored by the Fiji International,” said Ulaiasi Ravovo, Sanasana Rugby team member.
“This is the start of a great friendship and we look forward to the PGA of Australia’s next Fiji International in October.”
The ceremony was attended by a large number of the Sanasana Rugby Team members as well as the village elders.
Beginning with welcoming words and a prayer conducted by the village Church Minister, the ceremony concluded with Thorburn expressing the PGA of Australia’s commitment to the continual growth of the Fiji International.
“It is my pleasure to present these jerseys to Sanasana Village as a token of our appreciation for their support and assistance during the Fiji International in 2014,” said Thorburn, who has strong ties to the game of Rugby through his previous role as the Commercial Director for the Australian Rugby Union.
“We are committed to growing the Fiji International into a bigger and better event with each passing year,” he added.
“As part of this we will certainly continue to give back to the community as much as we can.”
“We wish the Sanasana Rugby team all the best when the season starts.”
Sanasana Village owns the land upon which the host venue of the Fiji International, Natadola Bay Championship Course is located.
The 2014 Fiji International involved the Sanasana Villagers in many aspects of the tournament including volunteers, security, caddies and entertainment.
Men, women and children from Sanasana Village supported the Fiji International and will continue to support Fiji’s biggest sporting event for years to come.
The 2015 Fiji International will be held from 15th – 18th October at Natadola Bay Championship Golf Course.
The inaugural Fiji International, boasting a million dollar prize purse, signalled Fiji’s official arrival onto the golfing world stage with the Fijian Government, Fiji Tourism and Fiji’s number one golf ambassador, Vijay Singh, all making a push to put their country on the lucrative world golfing map.
As the newest tournament on the PGA Tour of Australasia and OneAsia tours, the inaugural Fiji International was a resounding success.
It was not only a great golf event, but also an opportunity to showcase Fiji as a premier cultural, leisure and sporting destination with a diverse range of activities and attractions.
120 players from 16 different countries came together at the spectacular Natadola Bay Championship Golf Course to take on the challenging layout, designed by local hero Vijay Singh, to compete in the regions first ever internationally broadcast tournament.
Other players in the field included three time Major Champion Nick Price, Fiji’s Dinesh Chand, India’s highest ranked and world top-100 player Anirban Lahiri, China’s top ranked players Liang Wenchong and Wu Ashun, and two of Australia’s most successful and respected golfers Craig Parry and Peter O’Malley.
Hitting the very first tee shot of the Fiji International, Steven Jeffress went on to make history by sinking the last putt of the tournament as he birdied the 18th hole to claim the title by four shots from fellow Australian Jake Higginbottom.
Further information on the Fiji International is available at www.fijiinternational.com.
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