A championship golf course originally designed by Fiji's former World No.1 Vijay Singh has opened beside the Pacific Ocean alongside the new InterContinental resort.

But Vijay Singh was not present, and his name did not appear in media releases about the opening.

Singh, who lives in the US, withdrew from the project in 2006 in a dispute with its developers, but his design continued to be followed.

Presiding at the official opening, Fiji's golf-playing vice-president Ratu Epeli described it as "arguably the best and most outstanding course in the Asia-Pacific region".

The annual Fiji Open championship, which attracts many up-and-coming Australian and New Zealand golfers, was played over the course in early June.

The par-72 Natadola Bay Championship Course at the western end of the Coral Coast is Fiji's fifth 18-hole layout, totalling 6400m stretching from beside the country's best-known beach into the hills surrounding the resort.

There are five tees on each hole for golfers of varying ability and handicaps.

The club is being managed by an Australian company, Avid Sports Management of Brisbane, headed by Australian PGA member James Cooper.

There's also a modern clubhouse, driving range, a pitching and chipping facility, and a putting green.

The five-star, $A280 million InterContinental Resort has 216 guest-rooms, with an additional 55 hilltop villas of one, two and three bedrooms due to open soon.

NATADOLA AAP