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Takudzwa Chitsiga
Sports Reporter
TOP Zimbabwean professional golfer Scott Vincent yesterday buried himself in glory after he won the inaugural International Series England at Slaley Hall Hotel, Spa and Golf Resort near Newcastle, England, yesterday.
The 30-year-old Zimbabwean carded 69, 68, 69 and 66 for a total 272 after four rounds.
Vincent’s win is his second in a row after he won the Gateway to The Open Mizuno Open in Japan last weekend.
For Vincent, whose young brother Kieran also made the cut at the Royal Beach Victoria Open presented by Times colonist in the Canadian Tour, it was a big pay cheque for him in the US$2million purse tournament.
The Zimbabwean, who was trailing leader Travis Smyth by a single shot on seven under after the opening three rounds, managed to come back and win by a single shot.
The win saw Vincent, who was on position 51 on the Asian Tour money rankings, move to third place with total earnings of US$383 737.50 after taking part in six tournaments.
Going into the last hole tied with Smyth, Vincent managed to birdie number 18 to take his tally to 12-under.
In the third round it was a day for patience as the Zimbabwean showed a lot of potential as he followed 10 straight pars with a trio of birdies from the 11th.
But late in the afternoon, a couple of short putts refused to drop – including one at the last where Vincent made his only bogey which he managed to recover yesterday.
Vincent said on Saturday before his latest sweet victory yesterday: “Obviously that would’ve been nice to have finished a little better, but I hung in there.
“I didn’t feel like I had my best today (on Saturday). So I’m hoping that I’m going to wake up tomorrow (yesterday) and feel amazing and give it a good go.”
And as promised, he went on to wake up on the final day where he played against the leaders in the last ball which comes with it more pressure.
Vincent was arguably the best player without a win in 2018 and was fifth on the Asian Tour Order of Merit after finishing in the top-10 nine times, including three runner-ups.
The Zimbabwean earned his first Asian Tour card in 2016 via Qualifying School and is currently the only Zimbabwean to play on Tour. The International Series England also had another Zimbabwean, Ben Follet-Smith, who missed the cut.
The Zimbabwe Golf Association president, Martin Chikwana, said he is very happy with the leading golfers professional performances which are putting the country on the world map. “We are very happy with Vincent’s win and it is good as he is setting the bar high. He has done well and we are grateful.
“Scott has done so well and I hope this form continues until next week when he tees off in the star-studded field,” said Chikwana.
Meanwhile, Michael Wallace was crowned the 2022 Chapman Grand Slam champion after he beat Rashid Mohamed, who finished second, yesterday.
Wallace finished the tournament on 226 overall as Chapman A team beat Royal Harare in the team event.
Online Reporter