Spending 2016 studying a Masters of Commerce, Matthew Giles
today mastered the Natadola Bay Championship Golf Course to lead the Fiji
International.

Turning Pro in 2010 and winning the Vic Open in 2013,
Matthew Giles at 27 years of age has elected to spend his winter months
studying instead of pursuing an overseas Tour.

"I’ve
been doing a Masters of Commerce at the University of Sydney. I just wanted to
do something in addition to golf," said Giles.

"Obviously
I’ve got my status here in Australia and I still plan on playing all the bigger
events but our schedule is fairly spread out throughout the year."

"You’ve
got events at the start of the year and events and the end. Then you’ve got
that mid point where unless you’re travelling overseas you can do other things,
so I just wanted to do some academic stuff."

It’s a decision he believes has provided some much welcomed
life balance.

"It’s nice having normality and waking up in the same bed
in Sydney over a period of time," added Giles.

"This is my sixth or seventh year as a Pro, so I’ve seen
a lot of aeroplanes and hotel rooms and it’s nice to have a little bit of a
break from that." 

Spending time with his head in the books doesn’t seem to
have affected his talent with the clubs.

Giles finished tied 11^th at the South Pacific
Open Championship two weeks ago, his first tournament in six months on the ISPS
HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia.

"I played Noumea a couple of weeks ago and played a couple
of pro-ams last week to kind of dust the cobwebs off," added Giles.

"I think it’s been really good for me to have a bit of a
refresher."

Today Giles fired 6-under 66 and was happy to be finished on
top of the leaderboard with the wind really starting to pick up at Natadola
Bay.

"I
got off to a really nice start but I had to take an unplayable on the third. I
hit a terrible tee shot there but then I had a really good run midway through
the front-9," added Giles.

"I
birdied both the par-5s and holed a 9 iron on 8 for eagle which was a nice
little bonus."

"It looks like the wind is picking up so I’m more than happy
to be finished for the day. It was an early start this morning but I think we
probably got the best of the conditions."

While Giles may be focused on his Masters, a win this week would
see him earn full status on the European Tour until the end of the 2017 season.
An opportunity he hasn’t ruled out.

"I think it just comes down to what accessibility you have
and what exemptions you have," added Giles. 

"If I keep playing well this week, at the Aussie PGA or
any of those co-sanctioned events and I happen to get a card over there, then
obviously I’d play, of course."