Kieran Vincent carries Zim Olympic golf hopes

Top Zimbabwean golfer Kieran Vincent (pictured) holds the country’s hopes of having a golf representative at the upcoming Paris Olympic Games.

Top Zimbabwean golfer Kieran Vincent holds the country’s hopes of having a golf representative at the upcoming Paris Olympic Games.

At the moment Kieran Vincent’s World Ranking of 401 ensures that he does not get automatic qualification for the Olympics but the highest ranked Zimbabwean golfer remains on standby in case there are dropouts amongst those who occupy the available slots for various reasons.

Golf qualification for the Olympic Games Paris 2024 is limited to 60 men's and 60 women's players through the Official World Golf Rankings.

Unfortunately for Kieran Vincent, the ranking cutoff date for men is June 17 which is Monday next week while for women it’s June 24 2024.

Zimbabwe Golf Association (ZGA) president Martin Chikwanha is adamant that there is still a chance of Olympic qualification.

“We are a country within qualification for the Olympics through Kieran Vincent who is our highest ranked golfer. Unfortunately he has played a lot in the LIV Golf league this year which does not have ranking points,” Chikwanha said.

“You will realize that it was good that both Kieran Vincent and his brother Scott played in the FBC Zimbabwe Open and garnered invaluable points. Kieran went on to play and win a tournament on the Sunshine Tour, the Kit Kat Cash and Carry ProAm which he won and it enhanced his chances of booking a ticket to the Olympics for the country.

“I believe two or three more tournaments with ranking points would have seen him comfortably qualify for the Paris Games. However, he remains on standby as a second or third alternative in case others who have qualified pull out. So we are still preparing for the possibility of having a golfer flying the country’s flag at the Olympics,” he said.

Fabrizio Zanotti from Paraguay was the lowest ranked qualifier at number 328 in the world according to the Olympic Golf Ranking (OGR) which is calculated every Monday.

And Kieran Vincent features as third replacement for 15 golfers who occupy qualification places while he also features as fourth and fifth alternative on several occasions.

Scott Vincent flew the country’s flag at the Tokyo Olympics back in 2021 and finished in a credible 16th place.

 

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