HARARE – Zimbabwean golfer Scott Vincent is hoping to ride on the momentum of his first outing at the tropical destination of Fiji.
Vincent signed for a closing round one-under 71 for a total eight-under 280 to close in a share of ninth place at the tri-sanctioned Fiji International at the Natadola Bay yesterday.
The 25-year-old, who attended Virginia Tech in the United States before turning professional in 2015, was six shots behind winner, Australian, Jason Norris.
Norris, 44, fired a sizzling final round 67 to claim a four-shot victory over the trio of Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond and the Australian duo of David Mckenzie and James Marchesani.
Norris’ victory saw him pick up the $250 000 winner’s cheque, the biggest of his life.
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“It’s been a great week. It’s nice to come and play here.
“First year out here, I can’t be too disappointed with my result this week.
“One or two shots could have made the difference today but overall, I played really solid,” Vincent said.
“It’s still a good week. I have a lot of positives to take away from this week and hopefully I can ride on the good form heading into the remainder of the season.”
Vincent went into the final round three strokes off the pace after a four-under 68 at Natadola Bay Championship Golf Course famed for its coastal scenery.
His finish saw him ending as the only member of the top 10 not representing Australia, New Zealand or Thailand.
It was also his best finish of the year and earned him his biggest prize purse of the year — $26 147.
Vincent’s European Tour season has been wobbly but one he would look back at and take hard lessons as he progresses as a professional golfer.
He started the season finishing 109th at the BMW SA Open hosted by City of Ekurhuleni in January before finding the going tough at the Maybank Championship in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia where he finished 130th — his lowest finish of the year.
He followed that up by finishing 68th at the ISPS Handa World Super 6 Perth in Australia before picking 68th again at the Joburb Open in South Africa and 34th at Hero Indian Open in India in March.
Meanwhile, Norris was pleased with his victory.
“It’s taken me 21 years to have a win like this,” said Norris, who was considering the Asian Tour qualifying school for next year but now gets a two-year exemption on that tour and playing rights on the European Tour after winning the co-sanctioned event.
“Now I’ve got a start in Europe and Asia as well. I was going to quit the game last year and now I’m playing all over the world. It’s just fantastic,” he said.
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