SINGAPORE, Aug 11 — Zimbabwe’s Scott Vincent continued his red-hot streak at the International Series events by carding a bogey-free eight-under-par 64 to grab the first-round lead in Singapore today.
The International Series Singapore offers a lucrative purse of US$1.5 million (RM6.7 million) and is part of the new International Series funded by the Saudi-backed LIV to the tune of US$400 million.
Vincent, who won the England edition in June, was in scintillating form again as he fired eight birdies — four on each side of the front and back-nine to take a one-shot advantage over Malaysia’s Gavin Green at the Tanah Merah Country Club.
Vincent started well with an opening birdie on his back-nine 10.
The Zimbabwean picked up further gains on 13, 16 and 18 before marking his inward-nine with birdies on holes one, three, five and eight.
“It was a good day as a lot of things went my way. It was a good challenge, trying to stay in the present, enjoy each stage and not get too far ahead. I’m just out here trying to be a little better each day,” said Vincent.
After missing the cut in six out of his previous eight starts, Green was pleased with his resurgence especially after storming home with three consecutive birdies for a flawless 65.
“The last few years have been really tough for me. But I’ve put in a lot of hard work and it’s coming back nicely,” said the Malaysian number one.
LIV golf rebel Patrick Reed, meanwhile, had a day to forget after he struggled under scorching conditions to end the day nine shots back of Vincent in 78th place. The 2018 Masters champion traded three bogeys against two birdies for a 73. — AFP
