THINK YOUNG, PLAY HARD
Zimbabwean Scott Vincent holds cards on four different tours around the golfing world.
Scott Vincent.
ON HAVING STATUS ON FOUR (AND A HALF) DIFFERENT TOURS FOR 2018
I played a LOT of golf in 2017 and currently have playing privileges on the Sunshine, Asian, European Challenge and Mackenzie (Canadian) tours, plus conditional status on the European Tour. Professional golf is fiercely competitive wherever you travel around the world, but the Mackenzie Tour is very underrated. There are approximately 12 events and it comprises players who have either just missed their Web.com Tour cards or who are straight out of college.
ON GROWING UP IN ZIMBABWE
I was born and raised in Zim and wouldn’t trade it for anywhere in the world. My parents had challenges during the unstable political environment, in providing schooling and sometimes even fuel to take me to tournaments, but I believe it helped toughen me up. I was a member at Chapman GC in Harare but we constantly travelled around the country to play tournaments at courses that were in very poor condition. I always had to grind out a score and accept bad bounces and it made me mentally tougher. My home base is now in Denver, Colorado, but I will always play under the Zimbabwean fl ag.
ON ZIM INFLUENCERS
Roger Baylis, head professional at Chapman and national coach for the Zimbabwe Golf Association, is a legend in Zimbabwean golf circles. He’s been directly involved with everyone who has shown a talent for the game in Zim, and is the biggest influence on my career to date. He took me under his coaching wing at 14 and we still keep in touch today. Nick Price has kindly shown an interest in my career and has also been a mentor, always being available to offer advice when needed.
ON THE VIRGINIA TECH CONNECTION WITH ZIM
Sean Farrell was the first Zimbabwean to earn a full golf scholarship at Virginia Tech after coach Jay Hardwick saw him play at the 1992 Junior World Cup in Japan. Hardwick clearly took a liking to us Zimbos. Brendon de Jonge (1999-2003) and Nick (2004-2008) and Mark (2009-2013) McDonald all played for the ‘Hokies’ in Blacksburg,Virginia, before my arrival there in 2011. I graduated with a finance degree in 2015.
ON COLLEGE ROMANCE
I met my wife Kelsey at Virginia Tech. She was on the soccer team and is now travelling – and occasionally caddying for me – after we got married in October.
ON PLAYING IN A PGA TOUR EVENT
Winning the 2015 Players Cup, an amateur tournament in South Carolina, gave me an exemption into the PGA Tour’s Heritage event at Hilton Head in 2016. What a course Harbour Town is. It’s so tightly tree-lined that even hitting the fairway doesn’t guarantee an unobstructed approach to the green. You’ve got to hit the correct side of the fairway! I played a practice round with two-time PGA Tour champion Kevin Streelman, who gave me very simple, but timeless advice. He told me that I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t good enough and that this week is not
everything, so just enjoy the experience and have fun. I made the cut, finishing T-64.
ON FORGETTING HIS LOCATION ON THE PLANET
I’m not even going to go into names and details, just enough to say that I’ve done so much travelling in the last two years I once showed up at the wrong American airport for a return flight to Canada!
ON FUTURE PLANS
The ultimate goal is to earn a PGA Tour card, and I think my path to fulfilling that ambition is through the European Tour. Hopefully I will be able to earn a full card in Europe in 2018.
ON A DREAM FOURBALL
It’s pretty simple: Tiger Woods, Nick Price and Henrik Stenson.