Ryan Fox returns to a happy hunting ground this week as he looks to continue his excellent rookie season on the European Tour at the Fiji International.
The New Zealander finished fourth on last season's Road to Oman to secure his playing privileges and has not looked back since, moving to 21st in the Race to Dubai Rankings presented by Rolex with the help of three top tens in Rolex Series events.
He also has two top tens here at the notoriously windy Natadola Bay Golf Club and while the layout has changed somewhat since his last visit in 2015, the 30 year old arrives in confident mood.
"The first half was a little frustrating, I probably played some better golf than what I scored and I had a couple of bad Sundays or bad weekends, missed a couple of cuts by one, that's always frustrating as a golfer," he said.
"Then at the French Open I finished sixth there and that took the pressure off for the rest of the year, I managed to keep playing pretty well and got pretty high on the money list and got a couple of Majors out of that and I've still got 10 or 12 events to look forward to for the rest of the year.
"Hopefully I can continue the good run of form for that but regardless of what happens it's been an awesome first year in Europe.
"I've got some pretty decent history around here, I love coming back to Natadola and love coming back to Fiji and hopefully it treats me well again this year."
Fox arrives in the south Pacific off the back of finishing in a tie for 54th at the US PGA Championship. A brilliant round of 66 on Friday had him in contention at Quail Hollow Club but a closing 78 saw him fall back.
"It was awesome," he said. "My first professional tournament in the US outside of Q-School, for that to be a Major and to have a very slim chance on the last day, it was a great week. Unfortunately I didn't quite finish off the way I would've liked but it was still a great experience."
Scott Hend missed the cut by a single stroke in Charlotte and arrives in Fiji for his 19th European Tour event of the season. That may seem like a significant total but it has yielded just two top tens so far and the big-hitting Australian - who has played 75 events since the 2015 season began - is determined to keep his foot down.
"I've tried to change my schedule a little bit and play a little bit less and it hasn't worked so I'm going to go back to doing what I've done for the last 20 years and play a lot of golf," he said. "I seem to play a lot better the more I play and that's why I'm here playing this week and hopefully that pays off towards the end of the year."
Jeunghun Wang is another player looking for a big finish after enduring a lean run of form over the spring and summer. Since his victory at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters, he has made just four of 15 cuts.
That win on the Desert Swing was his third inside 12 months and the South Korean believes the doors opened for him by those wins will help his game return to its best in the long run.
"I have had the chance to play in Majors and other big events this season," he said. "I have learned a lot and I believe those experiences will help me in my game this week."
