Staff WriterScott Vincent walked into the PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers looking like a man who knew exactly what was at stake. Two rounds in, Scott Vincent looks like a man who’s not about to blink.
The Zimbabwean kept himself in the hunt with a composed four-under-par showing that nudged him to eight-under, six shots back, and sitting in a share of 12th heading into the weekend.
For someone leading The International Series Rankings all season, he looked anything but rattled. Vincent remains perched at No. 1, ahead of Japan’s Yosuke Asaji and the Philippines’ Miguel Tabuena.
With 324 elevated points dangling like a carrot in the desert breeze, the maths could flip fast — but he’s made it clear he prefers to write his own story.
This, mind you, all after dragging himself out of bed at an ungodly hour.
“Yeah, it was a very early start. I think up at 4:00 am. To play the way I did was just great. Obviously a little bit of pressure coming into today and this week, but I’m very thankful for how it went the first two days. Hopefully I can just free up and play some normal golf now.”
If normal golf means marching toward another LIV Golf League spot, most players on this side of the equator wouldn’t mind trading places. Vincent already earned his way into LIV by winning the season-long race in 2022, and he’s leaning heavily on the scars and lessons built over years grinding across continents.
“For sure you’re trying all the little tricks that you have. The mind tries to make this more important than it needs to be. I don’t know if I’m succeeding, but the first two days have been great and I’m looking forward to the weekend.”
The International Series has become one of the most reliable pipelines into LIV Golf, and Vincent didn’t shy away from giving credit where it’s due.
“I think it’s great. The International Series is only getting better as the years go on. The tournaments are run well and the whole experience is good. There are more opportunities for us to pursue the Asian Tour to get onto LIV Golf. It’s a great opportunity for us.”
He’s just as bullish on the Asian Tour itself, which has been levelling up year after year — and pushing him right along with it.
“The Asian Tour is getting stronger each year. Cuts are moving up, you need to play well to compete. It forces you to figure out the little things that help you improve. When the competition gets better, it pushes you to play better.”
If he’s feeling the pressure, he’s hiding it with the sort of discipline usually reserved for monks and surgeons. Leaderboards? Forget it.
“Working out where everyone finishes? I gave up on that a long time ago. It’s not something you suddenly start doing this week – you practice it all year. ‘There’s a scoreboard, I’m not going to look.’ Just focus on what I’m doing.
“You want to come in here and play well. You don’t want to hope someone else doesn’t. It’s about the best prep, taking care of your things, and controlling what you can. I couldn’t wait to get started.”
The PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers is the final stop of the 2025 International Series. Only the top two non-exempt players will walk away with direct passage to the 2026 LIV Golf League.
Everyone inside the top 40 gets another crack at it in January’s LIV Golf Promotions, where two more spots will be fought over like gold teeth in a bar fight.
Scott Vincent, though, has no intention of leaving this to chance. He’s hitting fairways, hitting greens, and — much like his ranking — hitting form at exactly the right moment.
