ZIMBABWE’S Scott Vincent finished his final round of his Olympics debut 4-under-par 67 for the day and 11 under for the tournament to claim position 16 out of 60 at the Tokyo Olympics 2020.
The 29-year-old, who was tied for 16 with the other five golfers, recovered from a nightmarish start in the first round in which he shot 73, to eventually finish seven strokes off the gold medalist, American Xander Schauffele and Slovakian Rory Sabbatini a stroke behind winning the silver medal.
With his wife Kelsy as his caddy, Vincent went into the final round with scores of 73, 67 and a bogey-free 66 to get within six shots of the lead in the men’s golf category.
Vincent’s strong finish in a lineup with some of the finest golfers is no mean feat for the success-starved Zimbabwe, and with a bit of composure on day one, he could have been a contender for a medal.
CT Pan of Chinese Taipei, who shot 74 in Round one and tied for the third-worst score, probably showed Vincent the art of recovery from a lousy start to eventually finish as a bronze medalist.
However, the Harare born Vincent’s strong showing after the first round was not a surprise. He is familiar with Japan conditions, having won his only professional title to date in 2019 at the Landic Challenge.
The Olympics golf tournament was held in the scorching sun at the Kasumigaseki Country Club, which is northwest of Tokyo.
The US-based golfer loves representing his country, representing Zimbabwe on three other occasions, including the 2018 World Cup.
Vincent, who plays on the European and Asian Tours, heads home buoyed by his exploits at Tokyo 2020 and with a renewed sense of self-belief. He is good enough to win big tournaments if he can rectify one or two mistakes.
“Mhondoro”, as Vincent is affectionately known, managed to gain the required points before the cut-off date to gain automatic qualification to the summer games. His strong showing is a testament that those who gain qualifications based on their performance always fare better at the Olympics.
Zimbabwe had five athletes at this year’s Olympics in swimmers- Donata Katai and Peter Wetzlar, sprinter Ngoni Makusha, rower Peter Purcell Gilpin and Vincent.
Only Gilpin and Vincent gained automatic qualifications, with the rest of the Zimbabwe Olympians being recipients of the universality entry to the Olympics.
