BY MUNYARADZI MADZOKERE
IT’S only natural that Zimbabwean golfer Scott Vincent’s father Derek is a proud man after his eldest son became the first sportsperson to represent the country in the sport at the Tokyo Olympic Games.
And it was only fitting that the Zimbabwe Golf Association (ZGA), in conjunction with the Zimbabwe Professional Golfers Association (ZPGA), paid him a courtesy visit to thank him and his family for raising a golf ambassador for the country at his Milton Park home early last week.
While Derek Vincent admits that it’s a proud moment and honour for the family to have Scott at the Olympics, he feels that his son will achieve so much more in his career.
“I think he has done well in his career and he is moving through the ranks, but I think based on his college career we were expecting some great things from him and he is definitely not finished because as a golfer you can go on and play till a ripe old age,” Derek Vincent told The Sports Hub in an exclusive interview.
“He (Scott) has got a way to go still and I think he has got goals and achievements that he wants to achieve so I think there is more to come.”
Scott, who is currently part of the Asian Tour and the European Tour, has been a runner-up five times on the Asian Tour.
In 2019 he won the Landic Challenge on the Japan Challenge Tour by five strokes for his first professional golf win.
But in the meantime he is basking in the glory of having qualified for the Olympic Games.
“I am very proud of his achievement, but also it’s an honour for us. To be representing your country at the Olympics is as high an honour as it can get so I am proud and honoured as a father,” he said.
Derek Vincent gave a brief background of how his son came into contact with golf and how he eventually decided to pursue a career in the sport.
“I have been a golfer for a while so when he watched me chipping around the garden he also picked up the club and soon found that he really loved the sport.
“He played other sports at school, but he made a decision early in his life that he would focus on golf and gave up other sports. So he went through junior golf in Zimbabwe with Roger Baylis as the coach, that really started him on his career.
“And from that he went on to university in the United States and from that he turned into a professional, so that is the journey. And it was the Zimbabwe Junior Golf Association that provided him with the impetus to get to where he is,” Derek Vincent said.
Vincent also has another son Kieran, who is currently playing collegiate golf in the US at Liberty University and was recently named in the 2021 PING All-America second team, a third such accolade since he moved to that country.
Just like his brother Scott, Kieran is also a former number one junior golfer in the country and is destined for success in his career. Next week Kieran will have a chance to compete against the top amateur golfers in the world when he tees off in the prestigious US Amateur Championship.
“Kieran is at college in the States playing for his college and had a great season last year finishing in the top 20 on the collegiate golf rankings and was elected to the second team All-America. He won an award at the university for the most outstanding athlete for the year. He has done well and he is also progressing really well,” he said.
“I get asked who is better of the two all the time. They are both very different characters and different sons so I can’t answer that at this stage.
“But a lot of credit must go to them both. The boys have done a lot themselves, so as parents we can only point them in the direction but it’s up to them to try and achieve their goals.”