Andrew
Tinashe Kusema
Deputy Sports Editor
FOR top Zimbabwe golfer Scott Vincent, the year 2022 has been characterised by “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”.
It is a season that has been of mixed fortunes.
Away from the greens, the 30-year-old became a father. Vincent and his wife Kelsey Loupee welcomed their first child Zoey to the world. Golf, just like many other sports codes, had been suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, Vincent bounced back and ended up having one of the better years of his career on the course.
All could have been good had it not been for the recent loss of Roger Baylis, the person who identified him, honed his skills and helped him become the man and golfer he is today. In fact, inside the last one-and-a-half years, Vincent also added success to his list of highs through his first outing in the Olympic games.
“Yeah, it’s pretty special,” said Vincent.
“That weekend prior to the games, preparation and everything before the tournament itself were amazing.
“My performance was great; I learnt a lot, being amongst some of the top players in the world, and I always want to take away something from an experience or tournament that I can carry on into the future.
“I am very fortunate in that, for me, that is hopefully not the last one, and I can take the lessons and experience from the Tokyo Games into the next Olympics in Paris.
“That is the hope and goal,” he said.
Vincent impressed in his debut outing at the Tokyo Games during which he finished tied 16th, recovering from an opening day’s play during which he carded two-over-par.
Luckily, he managed to finish strong with rounds of 67, 66 and 67 to tie with Jhonattan Vegas and Christiaan Buzeidenhunt at 11-under-par overall.
That was to be the blueprint he would carry into the year 2022, where he started badly before finishing strongly yet again.
“As a whole, the year 2022 was amazing, but the start was a bit tough for me.
“I didn’t play the way I was hoping to, and again, that all helped me be the person I am today and play the way I played for the rest of the year.
“It was all training; it was the right type of turbulence in the waters for me,” he said.
Vincent played two main tournaments during the first half of the year, making the cut only once and missing out on any Top-25 finishes.
Luckily for him, he was blessed with his first child.
“We welcomed our first child in April, and that has been the most amazing thing of the whole year for me.
“We (my wife and I) love her so much, and every single day it seems like we love her more and more.
“We have been able to travel with her, sharing some of the world with her and now she is back in Zimbabwe for the first time.
“We have been trying to get her to try some of the local Zimbabwean food, which we love, and it’s been an incredible year,” he said.
The arrival of Zoey (Vincent) appears to have brought with it the Midas touch, as her father played some incredible golf.
Vincent was crowned International Series Order of Merit winner, a result that has since given the Zimbabwean top golfer a “golden ticket” to the LIV Golf Series next season.
The International Series was launched earlier this year, thanks to a landmark partnership with LIV Golf, with the aim of invigorating the game in Asia and the Middle East.
The partnership brought the International Series to Thailand, England, Singapore, South Korea, Morocco and Egypt, as well as Indonesia, in a hugely successful debut season.
About 10 International Series events will take place next year, each with a prize purse of at least US$2 million, kicking off in Oman, at the Al Mouj Golf, from February 9 to 12.
That, together with playing the British Open, remains a year high for Vincent.
“I think the tournament that really changed things for me was the English International Series one, as that week worked out as being the week I won and got to play the LIV season.
“My golf career has gone up because of that one week, as I managed to get an invite into this year’s LIV season and get another chance to do so next season.
“What was special about that week and tournament was that I made a putt on the last hole to win the tournament, and things and experiences like that stay with you.”
Sadly, the euphoria of the season was diluted by the death of his mentor Baylis.
Baylis passed away at his home on December 3, after years of suffering from knee arthritis. It made it difficult for him to walk towards his later years, with the Zimbabwean golfing icon having had one of his legs operated on without success once.
He was 84.
“Someone left me a message to let me know about it while I was playing in Indonesia and it was very sad,” said Vincent of how he learnt about Baylis’ death.
“I was looking forward to coming back here (Zimbabwe) to see him and introduce Zoey to him, but that was not meant to be.
“I know he was very proud of what I was doing and I try to represent him well as I carry the Zimbabwean flag.
“I know that made him proud, and I am very thankful to have known him and spent a very long period of my golfing career with him.
“I look forward to carrying his name and talking about him to my children and everyone for many years to come,” Vincent said.
Twitter handle: @Nashaar
Online Reporter