Scott Vincent was rewarded for showing the patience befitting a saint, making a late birdie on the 17th hole that edged him ahead by one shot at the end of the third round in the US$2 million International Series Morocco.
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At the par-73 Royal Golf Dar Es Salam course on Saturday, the Zimbabwean started the penultimate round leading by two shots, and despite a solid day of ball striking, his putter refused to cooperate. Vincent made only two birdies in a bogey-free round of two-under par 71 and stayed ahead of the fast-charging Thai Settee Prakongvech (67), who closed with a disappointing bogey.
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China’s Bobby Bai matched Settee’s 67 and took possession of third place on the leaderboard at nine-under par total. The Aussie duo of Jack Buchanan (68) and Maverick Antcliff (72), American Austen Truslow (69) and Thai Suteepat Prateeptienchai (71) were in a tie for fourth place at eight-under.
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Two-time International Series champion, American Peter Uihlein (72) made a bogey on the last hole to slip and join China’s Yanwei Liu (71) in tied eighth place.
Vincent’s was one of only two bogey-free rounds of the day, a clear indicator that the course was playing difficult, but the 33-year-old was rarely in trouble. He made a birdie on the par-five fifth hole and had several looks at birdies but failed to make any apart from the chip to two feet on the drivable par-four 17th hole.
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On the par-four 16th, his birdie putt from 10 feet made a hard 360-degree horseshoe, and on the par-five 18th, he left it short by inches, again from 10 feet.
“It was great, a little challenging for me out there. I didn’t feel like I drove it particularly well, which just made it a little harder. But all in all, it was nice, solid and steady, and always nice to play bogey-free,” said the man whose last international win was almost three years and one month ago in the 2022 International Series England.
“The start was really the key. I made a couple of really good putts for par on two and three, and I think that really helped.”
Unlike Vincent, Settee holed several long putts in his round, which featured eight birdies and two bogeys. Two of the long putts came late in the day to save pars and the only mistake with the putter was the missed eight-footer for bogey on the 18th hole.
“I felt like I played really good golf. Everything was good today, especially my putting. I had some bad shots, but I could come back with a par save. On some of the difficult holes, I made difficult saves with some long putts,” said the 30-year-old from Chonburi, who finished runner-up last week in the Asian Development Tour event at the Al Maaden Golf Resort in Marrakech.
“I think I got used to the weather, but that week (in Marrakech) was hot. With the long flight from Thailand, I think coming one or two tournaments before has definitely helped me. And playing well last week, I gained confidence for this week.”
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After making seven birdies in his 67, Bai managed to stay ahead of the pack in tied fourth place with a superb par when a bogey looked like a good result.
“I felt like I played well today. Iron play was good and got the putter going a little bit on the front nine. Off the tee, I had a little bit of trouble but got a couple of lucky breaks,” said Bai, who spent a couple of years on the Korn Ferry Tour after turning pro in 2019.
“On the 18th, I just pulled my tee shot to the left in the trees and had to lay up to the fairway. That was like 227 yards to the pin, and the wind was down, right-to-left, so I felt like if I could get a seven-iron and draw it and catch the front, it would be pretty good. Hit a good shot to about six feet. It just had a lot of break on it. Par was very good on that hole.”
