Almost 50 PGA Professionals from Australia, New Zealand, Fiji & Samoa have converged to the Samoan capital city of Apia to compete for the SIFA Samoa Open & SIFA Samoa Senior Open at the Royal Samoa Country Club.

In the Open
field for the first time is Australian golfing great Andre Stolz, a former winner
on the US PGA Tour and winner of the 2013 South Pacific Open in New Caledonia,
an event which is part of the PGATOUR of Australasia.

"I hear great
things about the event and the warm weather is obviously something to look
forward to this time of year so I am really looking forward to it" said Stolz.

Stolz will
join a red hot Mitchell A Brown from Sydney who has tasted success in Samoa
before and is coming off a career highlight after winning the Spalding Park
Open in Western Australia last week.

The win moves
Brown into second place on the National Order of Merit and Brown says he is
feeling good about where his game is at right now.

"I have
really been working hard this year, trying to take my game to another level and
I’m really excited to be playing well" said Brown who hails from the Bankstown
Golf Club in South-Western Sydney.

"I love
playing in Samoa, the people are so friendly and the tournament is run very
well," added Stolz.

Local
professionals will again benefit from the opportunity of competing in this year’s
event and players including Malese Maifea will enjoy the chance to play on home
soil.

Other feature
players in this year’s Open field include Queensland’s Tim Hart and former winner
of the Vanuatu Open, Nick Gillespie from New Zealand.   

The $50,000
Open event runs alongside the $30,000 Senior Open event which will see a stellar
field of Legends Professionals compete for the prize which Richard Backwell
took out last year for the first time.

The Senior
Open will also see local professional Laauli Tui compete in the event against
some of the great players on the E-Z-GO Legends Tour.

Backwell is back
to defend his title but will have some tough competition from fellow Legends
players Simon Jagot and tour rookie Guy Wall.

"I have
obviously enjoyed success in Samoa but a new course this year will test the
game again and up against some great players from around the region so I will
need to really be on my game to defend this year" said Backwell..

PGA of Australia
Senior State Manager David Barker alluded to the importance of the event to
Samoa.

"The SIFA
Samoa Open and Samoa Senior Open events have been an integral part to the PGA
Australia’s plan to grow the game in the region and providing an opportunity
for our members to bring their skills to the people of Samoa is a major part in
ensuring golf is a thriving sport in the region.

Wednesday
will see the official Championship Pro-Am and Opening Ceremony, followed by the
Open and Legends events which are played over 54-holes beginning with round one
on Thursday and concluding with the final round on Saturday.