ZIMBABWEAN golf ace Scott Vincent will return to the field in the Japanese Golf Tour's Asia pacific Open Golf Championship Diamond Cup Golf 2022 which tees off tomorrow at Oarai Golf Club in Ibaraki, Japan.
Vincent, a two-time JGTO winner, will be part of the ¥100 000 purse field which will see the winner pocketing ¥20 000.
"Mhondoro", as Vincent is affectionately known by his followers in Zimbabwe, will tee off at 11:30 together with Aryan Roopa Anand and Ryuta Suzuki.
The former St George's College student has also looked back to where he came from and has joined forces with Unseen Pursuit, a charity that is dedicated to feeding the hungry and Ndeipi, a non-profit body that specialises in entrepreneurial education for the less fortunate in Zimbabwe. Vincent has impressed on and off the golf course. With a heart of gold, the 29-year-old took it upon himself to start giving back to the community and make a difference in the lives of underprivileged people through several charity organisations back in his country.
And it comes as no surprise why he pledged his full backing for JGTO's Discover Your Green (DYG) initiative and believes that his fellow top-flight professional golfers should be doing the same too. The DYG initiative was mooted by JGTO last year to promote unity and establish a vibrant society through positive energy channelled from the sport of golf.
"Most of us golfers feel that we need to give back because so much has been given to us (through the sport)," said Vincent.
"We're so blessed with what we do for our career. I'm here because so many people have poured into my career and expect nothing back in return.
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"So, the very least I can do is find the little area where I can help out and make a difference.
"One of the organisations that I try to get involved with is the Unseen Pursuit, an organisation back in Zimbabwe run by a close friend of mine.
"Their idea is to help a group of people such as orphans or widows who desperately need help on basic needs like food or education.
"For me, that's what I have been doing over the past few years, trying to give back because there's such a big need in Zimbabwe."
One of Vincent's notable initiatives in raising funds for Unseen Pursuit was through the auctioning of the golf bag he used at the Tokyo Olympics. It managed to raise US$3 000 from the highest bidder.
Being the first Zimbabwean golfer to play at the Olympics, Vincent enjoyed a decent debut by finishing tied 16th at the Tokyo Games.
"We were thinking what a good way to use the excitement from the Olympics is, and we thought, what a great opportunity to auction off the golf bag and give the money to Unseen Pursuit," he said.
"Some people were interested, and it ended up selling for US$3 000. It was amazing to put something like that to good use."-- Japan Golf Tour/Sports Reporter
