Scott Vincent is enjoying a solid 2025 â finishing inside the top-12 in seven of his 10 worldwide starts. Playing on African soil and on a golf course that has grass imported from his home country Zimbabwe, could just be the tonic that secures his first win of the season as he took a two-shot lead at the halfway stage of the US$2 million International Series Morocco.
Vincent shot a brilliant seven-under par 66 on Friday at the par-73 Royal Golf Dar Es Salam course, the best round of the tournament so far, to reach a two-day total of nine-under 137.
Despite a disappointing three-putt bogey on his final hole (the ninth of the golf course) he had done enough good work to jump to the top of the leaderboard, two shots clear of Australian Maverick Antcliff (70).
American Peter Uihlein (72), a two-time International Series champion last year, threatened to overtake Vincent in the evening. However, after reaching nine-under through 14 holes, he made three bogeys in his last four holes to drop down to a tie for third place at six-under par. He was joined there by the Thai Suteepat Prateeptienchai (67).
Defending champion Ben Campbell made a determined move with a 68 and was tied at 141 alongside John Lyras (71) of Australia, Charlie Lindh (69) of Sweden, Ekpharit Wu (70) of Thailand and Yanwei Liu (70) of China.
The cut fell at one-over par 147.
Vincent started from the 10th tee, and the 33-year-old made a brace of birdies on the 11th and 12th holes, then another on the 17th and 18th, and another on the second and third to get to six-under at that point.
âIt actually feels a lot like the golf courses I grew up playing on in Zimbabwe, so thereâs a bit of a home vibe going on. The grass is the same. Someone just told me today that they imported all the grass from Zimbabwe here, so thatâs kind of cool. Thereâs definitely something about being on African soil that just feels great,â said Vincent.
âIt was awesome. A lot of things went really well, so very happy about that. But tons of golf left.â
Talking about his form this year, he added: âItâs just the ups and downs of golf. I think we kind of find some form, lose some form, and itâs just part of what we do. I feel like Iâm doing a lot of the same things that Iâve been doing for quite a few years, and maybe just tightening up on a few little things. But overall, it feels like itâs the same, and I feel like Iâm the same, and just doing the same things.â
Antcliff, a three-time winner on PGA Tour China, is yet to win on the Asian Tour. The Brisbane resident put himself in a great position going into the weekend.
âIt was pretty solid. I was out of position first couple of holes, made a couple of nice par putts, and then was really solid after that,â said the 32-year-old, whose best finish on the Asian Tour is a tied fourth place in the 2024 International Series Oman.
âMy birdie on the third hole was the one that stood out. Hit a nice drive, just kicked into the left rough from where I got a bit of a flyer and got a little lucky. But it was still a nice shot from where I was and a nice birdie to make on a very difficult hole.â
Campbell surged into contention with a bogey-free round that took his two-day tally to five-under 141.
The New Zealander made the most of the calm morning conditions and said: âI hit the ball really well. I didnât really hole anything on the greens, unfortunately. Felt like it was a day that could have been a lot, lot better, so that was a little bit frustrating.â
Thailandâs Nitithorn Thippong scored the first hole-in-one of the tournament and credited his caddie Sebastian for the second competitive ace of his career.
Nicknamed âFeverâ, Nitithorn raised the heat with a perfect five-iron shot that went straight in on the 206-yard second hole. It helped him close with a two-under 71.
âIt was playing 203 yards, and there was no wind out there. I was going to grab my four-iron because it goes about 204 yards. I just wanted to land it on the green. And then, I just figured out with Sebastian that being short was better and hit the five-iron. It just landed like four or five yards before the pin and got a big bounce and went straight in,â said Nitithorn.
The International Series Morocco is the fourth of 10 elevated events on the Asian Tour calendar, which form a pathway to the LIV Golf League.
Main Picture: Scott Vincent (ZIM). By Steve Bardens/Asian Tour.
Scores after round 2 of the International Series Morocco being played at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam (Red Course), a par-73, 7,630-yard course (am – denotes amateur):
137 – Scott Vincent (ZIM) 71-66.
139 – Maverick Antcliff (AUS) 69-70.
140 – Peter Uihlein (USA) 68-72, Suteepat Prateeptienchai (THA) 73-67.
141 – John Lyras (AUS) 70-71, Ben Campbell (NZL) 73-68, Charlie Lindh (SWE) 72-69, Ekpharit Wu (THA) 71-70, Liu Yanwei (CHN) 71-70.
142 – M.J. Maguire (USA) 71-71, Austen Truslow (USA) 71-71, Danthai Boonma (THA) 70-72, Kazuki Higa (JPN) 75-67, Ian Snyman (RSA) 71-71, Kevin Yuan (AUS) 70-72, Settee Prakongvech (THA) 72-70, Siddikur Rahman (BAN) 71-71, Miguel Carballo (ARG) 73-69.
143 – Sampson Zheng (CHN) 70-73, Travis Smyth (AUS) 72-71, Nitithorn Thippong (THA) 72-71, Micah Shin (USA) 70-73, Jack Buchanan (AUS) 71-72, Bobby Bai (CHN) 70-73, Takumi Murakami (JPN) 74-69, Jakkanat Inmee (THA) 70-73.
144 – Gregory Foo (SIN) 72-72, Stefano Mazzoli (ITA) 71-73, Bjorn Hellgren (SWE) 71-73, Denzel Ieremia (NZL) 71-73, Yosuke Asaji (JPN) 73-71, Justin Quiban (PHI) 76-68, Sean Ramos (PHI) 71-73, Mito Pereira (CHI) 74-70, John Catlin (USA) 68-76, Julien Quesne (FRA) 73-71, Tatsunori Shogenji (JPN) 71-73.
145 – Yuta Sugiura (JPN) 72-73, Tomoyo Ikemura (JPN) 75-70, Gaganjeet Bhullar (IND) 72-73, Gunn Charoenkul (THA) 71-74, Manav Shah (USA) 70-75, Jonathan Broomhead (RSA) 71-74, Chang Wei-lun (TPE) 77-68, Taichi Kho (HKG) 73-72, Miguel Tabuena (PHI) 71-74, Jaco Ahlers (RSA) 72-73, Berry Henson (USA) 71-74, Charles Porter (USA) 73-72, Brett Rankin (AUS) 71-74.
146 – Charl Schwartzel (RSA) 75-71, Chonlatit Chuenboonngam (THA) 76-70, Ryan Peake (AUS) 73-73, Guntaek Koh (KOR) 73-73, Santiago De la Fuente (MEX) 74-72, Joel Stalter (FRA) 72-74, Kelvin Si (MAC) 71-75, Carlos Bustos (CHI) 76-70, Julien Sale (FRA) 75-71, Jonathan Wijono (INA) 75-71.
147 – Jeunghun Wang (KOR) 75-72, James Piot (USA) 71-76, Rattanon Wannasrichan (THA) 71-76, Newport Laparojkit (THA) 76-71, Dominic Foos (GER) 76-71, Andy Ogletree (USA) 73-74, Sarit Suwannarut (THA) 69-78, Chen Guxin (CHN) 74-73, Pavit Tangkamolprasert (THA) 73-74, Atiruj Winaicharoenchai (THA) 75-72, Ajeetesh Sandhu (IND) 74-73, Wang Wei-hsuan (TPE) 74-73.
148 – Lloyd Jefferson Go (PHI) 72-76, Ollie Schniederjans (USA) 73-75, Chase Koepka (USA) 74-74, Xiao Bowen (CHN) 75-73, Todd Sinnott (AUS) 76-72, Steve Lewton (ENG) 75-73, Jazz Janewattananond (THA) 73-75, Kosuke Hamamoto (THA) 72-76, Maximilian Rottluff (GER) 73-75, Khalin Joshi (IND) 74-74.
149 – Lu Wei-chih (TPE) 71-78, Suradit Yongcharoenchai (THA) 76-73, Lawry Flynn (AUS) 73-76, Dodge Kemmer (USA) 75-74, Rashid Khan (IND) 77-72, Jose Toledo (GTM) 74-75, Hongtaek Kim (KOR) 69-80, Chanat Sakulpolphaisan (THA) 70-79, Varanyu Rattanaphiboonkij (THA) 74-75.
150 – Luis Carrera (MEX) 74-76, Natipong Srithong (THA) 77-73, Sadom Kaewkanjana (THA) 78-72, Liu Yung-hua (TPE) 75-75, Soufiane Dahmane (MOR) 73-77, David Boriboonsub (THA) 73-77, Itthipat Buranatanyarat (THA) 74-76, Chikkarangappa S. (IND) 75-75, S.S.P. Chawrasia (IND) 74-76, Yuvraj Sandhu (IND) 76-74, Wooyoung Cho (KOR) 78-72, Rahil Gangjee (IND) 75-75, Sarut Vongchaisit (THA) 76-74.
151 – Jbe Kruger (RSA) 76-75, Sihwan Kim (USA) 78-73, Aidric Chan (PHI) 78-73, Carl Jano Corpus (PHI) 76-75, Phachara Khongwatmai (THA) 76-75, Tsai Tsung-yu (TPE) 73-78, Matthew Cheung (HKG) 73-78, Tanapat Pichaikool (THA) 76-75, Ervin Chang (MAS) 75-76, Leon D’Souza (HKG) 77-74.
152 – Youssef El Hali (am, MOR) 76-76, CharngTai Sudsom (THA) 78-74, Baekjun Kim (KOR) 74-78, Christian Banke (USA) 75-77, George Kneiser (USA) 74-78, Roberto Lebrija (MEX) 75-77, Poom Saksansin (THA) 74-78.
153 – Christopher Hickman (USA) 77-76, Varun Chopra (USA) 75-78, Carlos Pigem (ESP) 75-78, Brett Coletta (AUS) 76-77.
154 – Kieran Vincent (ZIM) 75-79, Chan Shih-chang (TPE) 77-77, Marcus Lim (MAS) 77-77, El Mehdi Fakori (MOR) 78-76, Nopparat Panichphol (THA) 78-76, Viraj Madappa (IND) 78-76, Faisal Salhab (KSA) 79-75, Ho Yu-cheng (TPE) 76-78.
155 – Galven Green (MAS) 81-74, Poosit Supupramai (THA) 75-80, Alejandro Canizares (ESP) 83-72.
156 – Peter Gunawan (INA) 76-80, Hugo Trommetter (am, MOR) 76-80, Zac Jones (USA) 76-80, Koh Dengshan (SIN) 75-81.
157 – Eduard Rousaud (ESP) 79-78, Ayoub Lguirati (MOR) 79-78, Jack Thompson (AUS) 78-79.
158 – Karandeep Kochhar (IND) 78-80, Aman Raj (IND) 79-79.
159 – Ahmad Baig (PAK) 80-79, Reda El Hali (am, MOR) 80-79, Khalid Attieh (KSA) 81-78.
161 – Ahmad Skaik (am, UAE) 82-79, Ben Jones (ENG) 81-80.
162 – Othman Raouzi (MOR) 84-78.
164 – Saud Al Sharif (KSA) 83-81.
167 – Othman Almulla (KSA) 80-87.
168 – Amine El Kharraz (MOR) 89-79.
END.
+1 (147) was the final cut, 72 players made the cut
Gary Stal, France – RT
Pierre-Henri Soero, USA – WD
