Golf-Fiji to host new $1 million tournament

Sept 19 (Reuters) - Fiji will host a new $1 million golf tournament starting next August as part of a five-year deal with the PGA of Australia, organisers said on Thursday. The Fiji International will be played at the Natadola Bay Championship Golf Course and will be co-sanctioned with the OneAsia Tour. Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama promised the government's full support to the event and was hopeful that it will provide a boost to the country's tourism and economy. "With a potential broadcast reach to more than 400 million people across 40 countries, it will feature Fiji as a top golf and tourist destination in millions of homes around the globe," Bainimarama said in a statement from the organisers. "It will give us a fantastic avenue to promote our beautiful nation and show the world what we have to offer." The tournament, which will likely move to a later position from 2015 to closely align with the PGA Tour of Australasia's existing events, will attract the top players of the world, organisers hoped. (Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly in Mumbai; Editing by John O'Brien)