Former Nadi resident, Dinesh Chand, is keeping his fingers crossed as he is determined to do well at the Fiji International, which gets underway today.

The Japan based- professional golfer tees-off alongside Gareth Paddisson of New Zealand and Daniel Popovic of Australia.

“It is always nice to be back home and hopefully the wind will be calm this week,” the 44-year-old said.

“We will play good golf and the tournament is getting bigger and better with the European Tour coming on board. There are many good players in Europe and it is always nice to compete with them.”

Chand said he had a practise round with the Vijay Singh on Tuesday. “Practising around him is another boost and I learned a few things from him. Last year, we played in a sort of cyclone atmosphere.”  Chand has recorded three wins on the Japan Golf Tour and two on the Japan Challenge Tour since turning professional in 1992. At the end of 2009, he lost his full playing rights from the Japan Golf Tour, and then moved on to play on the developmental Japan Challenge Tour in 2010.  He won two events in a row which resulted in him regaining his full playing rights for the second half of the Japan Golf Tour season. Chand finished second at the 2010 Sun Chlorella Classic.

The trio tee-off at 11.10am.

Edited by Leone Cabenatabua

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