Thirty-five professionals from Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific have teed it up in the opening round of the Vanuatu Golf Open.

In wet conditions, Fijian Sam Lee holds the lead after firing an opening round of 6-under par 66.

“I got off to a good start, I was six under through eight (holes) and it really set-up my round,” explained Lee.

Lee holds onto a one shot lead from a quartet of players with defending Champion Aaron Cox also in the mix after an opening round of four under par 68.

Three times Vanuatu Golf Open Champion Brad McIntosh was solid, starting his tournament with a one under par round of 71.

Prior to the opening round, PGA Professionals showed off their skills teaching the local juniors some of the fundamentals of the game.

“It’s great to see so many of the local juniors interested in playing golf,” explained David Barker, the Senior State Manager with the PGA of Australia.

“There are some talented players, it’s amazing how quickly they can pick it up once they’re given a few pointers.

"Hopefully tournaments such as these can expose juniors and even the local elite players to an international standard of competition.”

The PGA of Australia sanctions tournaments in Vanuatu, Samoa, Tahiti, Papua New Guinea, Fiji and New Caledonia.