In the 1970s, he recorded a number of wins in minor events in the Pacific Islands but was unsuccessful on the more competitive circuits.

He was thinking about quitting golf but a shock win at the 1979 Australian Masters gave him the confidence to continue his career.

[3] In November, he first received serious media attention for his performance at the City of Auckland Classic.

In the third round, he shot a 74 but in the "wet conditions" he still held the lead, now one over Walter Godfrey.

[5] In November, he seriously competed for the New Zealand Airlines Classic held at Russley Golf Club.

Vivian was at 206 (−13) entering the final round, two back of leader Bob Shearer.

[8] In the opening round, Vivian shot a two-over-par 74 and coupled with Owen's 71 the pair was at 145 (+1), in a tie for fourth with Australia.

[9] In the third round, Vivian shot a 75 (+3) and the team was at 442 (+10), in a tie for seventh, 11 back of the United States.

In a "tense finish" he had a chance to tie clubhouse leader Kel Nagle at the last hole.

[15] In August, he won the Pacific Harbour Open in Suva, Fiji defeating Terry Kendall and George Serhan in a playoff.

However, he made a "curling" 15-metre putt on the final hole for his ninth birdie of the day.

[7] In the second round, he again opened shakily but eventually settled down, making the turn at even-par for the day.

[3] His nearest competitor, Bob Shearer, made seven bogeys during the final round and ultimately shot a 78 (+5).

His "concentration was upset" before his second shot by a helicopter; he hit his approach on the par-5 18th into a greenside bunker.

"[23] Vivian defeated a number of star golfers including Greg Norman and Lee Trevino.

Vivian shot an opening round 73 at Glyfada Golf Club in Athens, Greece.

[29] Vivian shot a third round 71 (−1) to maintain the joint lead, this time with Chris Tickner.

However, he "blew up" with a final round 77 (+5) to finish solo fourth, five behind champion Tickner.

[30] The following month, Vivian finished in second place at the Legacy-CIG pro-am, one behind Ian Stanley.

[33] By virtue of these performances he was able to represent New Zealand at the 1980 World Cup in Bogota, Colombia.

In February 1981, he was the joint winner of the Victorian Open pro-am, tying Curtis Strange and Graham Marsh at 70 (−2).

[34] In 1983, in the third round, Vivian recorded a hole-in-one at the Resch's Pilsner Tweed Classic.

[36] Vivian shot a second round 68 (−4) to move into solo second, four behind leader John Lister.

Vivian was one back entering the final round of the Jersey Seniors Masters.

[1] In 2002, Vivian played 13 events, recording a seven top-10s, including a runner-up finish at the Tobago Plantations Seniors Classic.

[1] Back problems ultimately forced him to quit his career as a touring professional.