A new golf course has opened for play in Bourail, New Caledonia.

Golf course architect Cynthia Dye attended the opening of the Exclusiv Golf Deva course at Sheraton New Caledonia Deva Resort and Spa on 31 July.

The new course is the first from the Dye family to open in Oceania.

Cynthia Dye said: “I feel very fortunate that I was able to create something special for the Southern Province of New Caledonia and accomplish their goal of a world-class golf venue.”

The 7,302-yard course lies in a beachside valley and incorporates many of the natural lagoons and wetland areas of the site.

“This site offered a rare opportunity to design a golf course right on the Pacific Ocean within a pristine environment,” Dye said. “This is a piece of land that one only dreams of coming across for a golf project. The golf holes fit naturally into the geography.”

The course took four years to complete and will share the hosting of the South Pacific Open Championship going forward, starting with the 2015 Pro-Am Day on 17 September.