July 4: It’s the only Asian Tour event this year that is being played in his continent, and Zimbabwean Scottie Vincent is making sure he has plenty of say in how the US$2 million International Series Morocco leaderboard shapes up during the weekend.

Vincent closed with a disappointing three-putt bogey on his final hole on Friday at the par-73 Royal Golf of Dar Es Salam course, but he had done enough good work before that to shoot a seven-under par 66 and jump to the top of the leaderboard at nine-under 137.

Australian Maverick Antcliff was two shots behind Vincent at seven-under after a round of 70, as defending champion Ben Campbell made a determined move with a 68 and was tied at 141 total alongside John Lyras (71) of Australia and Charlie Lindh (69) of Sweden.

Vincent started from the 10th tee, and continued his fine run of form that has seen him finish inside the top-12 in seven of his 10 worldwide starts this year.

Maverick Antcliff of Australia. Picture by Steve Bardens/Asian Tour

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 6-under at that point.

“It actually feels a lot like the golf courses I grew up playing on in Zimbabwe, so there’s 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 that’s kind of cool. There’s definitely something about being on African soil that just feels great,” said Vincent.

“It was awesome. A lot of things went really well, so very happy about that. But tons of golf left.”

Talking about his form this year, he added:  “It’s just the ups and downs of golf. I think we kind of find some form, lose some form, and it’s just part of what we do. I feel like I’m doing a lot of the same things that I’ve been doing for quite a few years, and maybe just tightening up on a few little things. But overall, it feels like it’s the same, and I feel like I’m the same, and just doing the same things.”

Antcliff, a three-time winner on PGA Tour China, is yet to win on the Asian Tour. The Brisbane resident put himself in great position going into the weekend.

“It 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,” said the 32-year-old, whose best finish on the Asian Tour is a tied fourth place in the 2024 International Series Oman.

“My birdie on the third hole was the one that stood out. Hit a nice drive, just kicked into the left rough and 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.”

Nitithorn Thippong of Thailand. Picture by Steve Bardens/Asian Tour

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: “I hit the ball really well. I didn’t 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.”

Thailand’s 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 ‘Fever’, Thippong 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.

“It 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,” said Thippong.

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.