Scott Vincent trending in the right direction for Iron Heads
ROCESTER, England – If the ever-optimistic Scott Vincent felt he let go of a great opportunity to jump up the Individual Standings at LIV Golf UK by JCB, he wasn’t showing it and immediately turned his attention to the remaining two regular season events.
With rounds of 70 and 66, Vincent was in the hunt for a first top-10 of the season at JCB Golf & Country Club, but a final-round 71 pushed him to tied 16th place, the best among the four Iron Heads GC members.
Tied 17th the week before on a super tough Valderrama golf course, the Zimbabwean was happy that he was continuously improving.
“There were tons of good things. So, very encouraged by that and I just want to carry this forward and continue to build on it,” said Vincent, who was tied 3rd in Greens in Regulation.
“I think some of the feels I was having with my golf swing made me really comfortable. I think probably of everything I did, it was just that the feels that I had on the golf ball and how I could move at the ball. That was very different to what I was feeling at the beginning of the year and more along the lines of what I’m looking for.”
The second round 66 was his best effort of the week, and that came about without him exploiting any of the three par-5s of the golf course. In fact, his only bogey of the day was on the par-5 13th.
Vincent moved up to 49th place in the season-long Individual Standings. Still in the dreaded Drop Zone, but he has a history of turning on the heat when his back is up against the wall.
In the 2023 season, he famously lifted himself to the Lock Zone in the last tournament of the season in Jeddah when he needed to make sure he finished tied 4th or better. Vincent finished 4th that week with a stunning 12-under par weekend.
“We will just see how this pans out. It is what it is. I’m going to continue to do the things that I want to do,” said Vincent.
“Whichever way it falls at the end of the year, will be perfect for me. It really doesn't change what I’m going to do from here on for the next 5-10 years. We will continue at it regardless.”
Captain Kevin Na was the hero for his team on the opening day when he shot a bogey-free 1-under 70. That came despite him getting caught in the traffic outside the golf course and having to walk the last mile. With a couple of players running late, the opening round shotgun was delayed by 15 minutes.
“I managed to make it in good time. But I was really happy for LIV Golf to see the kind of response fans have given to the tournament,” he said.
Interestingly, both Na and Jinichiro Kozuma made eagle twos at the drivable par-4 12th holes on Sunday.
STAT REVIEW
Field ranking in parentheses
Fairways Hit
Vincent – 25 (T36)
Kozuma – 27 (T23)
Na – 29 (T10)
Lee – 25 (T36)
Driving Distance Avg.
Vincent – 283.4 (36)
Kozuma – 299.6 (4)
Na – 279.4 (T39)
Lee – 285.2 (T31)
Greens in Regulation
Vincent – 42 (T3)
Kozuma – 37 (T19)
Na – 31 (T51)
Lee – 39 (T14)
Total Putts
Vincent – 88 (T35)
Kozuma – 90 (T45)
Na – 86 (T24)
Lee – 98 (53)
Total Birdies
Vincent – 13 (T19)
Kozuma – 9 (T35)
Na – 5 (T51)
Lee – 8 (T42)