SCOTT Vincent of Zimbabwe remained in contention for a historic maiden win on the lucrative Asian Tour with a fine two-under-par round of 68 to take outright third place after the third round of the Shinhan Donghae Open in Incheon, South Korea yesterday.
BY DANIEL NHAKANISO
The 24-year-old rising star will head into the final round of the $1 million Asian Tour on 12-under-par 201, four shots behind the tournament leader Thailand’s Thitiphun Chuayprakong as he bids to become the first Zimbabwe to win on the Asian Tour.
Chuayprakong maintained his lead with a flawless five-under-par 66 at the Bears Best Cheongna Golf Club to stand on the verge of another Asian Tour victory on 16-under-par 197, two strokes ahead of second-placed Taewoo Kim of Korea.
Vincent said he was hoping for divine intervention after enjoying a fairy-tale run at the Shinhan Donghae Open which is seeing the return of the Asian Tour as its new sanctioning partner along with the Korean PGA.
“I will just pray and hope I can settle those early nerves. It’s going to be there tomorrow, I know it and I’m just going to calm myself down as much as I can,” Vincent, whose younger brother Kieran is on a golf scholarship at Liberty University in the US, said.
Despite dropping two shots on the ninth and 10th holes, Vincent remains optimistic of emerging as the dark horse. “I played well and I hit only two really poor shots all day. Apart from that, it was really solid. Not too much to be disappointed about as I’m still in the mix,” Vincent said.
Meanwhile, fellow Zimbabwean professional golfer Ryan Cairns recorded a season-best fifth place finish on the Sunshine Tour in the Vodacom Origins of Golf tournament Simola Golf & Country Estate in South Africa yesterday. A final round four-under par 67 ensured Cairns, who represents Royal Harare Golf Club, secured his first top 10 finish of the season at the tournament he won for his maiden Sunshine Tour victory in 2012.
