Kieran Vincent pips Anirban Lahiri at International Series Vietnam

Unheralded Kieran Vincent of Zimbabwe pulled off the result of his fledgling career when he got the better of LIV Golf League star Anirban Lahiri of India and Australia’s Kevin Yuan on a dramatic Sunday at the $2 million International Series Vietnam in Cam Ranh on Sunday.

In doing so, Vincent – fourth overnight – beat off a meteoric final day charge by Lahiri who fired a bogey-free eight-under-par 64 to total 18-under par 270 alongside Yuan at the Greg Norman-designed KN Golf Links in South-Central Vietnam.

For much of the day, Lahiri (69-70-67-64) chased and eventually caught overnight leader Takumi Kanaya of Japan and held the clubhouse lead by himself before being joined by Yuan and Vincent on 18-under par totals. The Indian star then had to wait to learn of the eventual outcome as the two other leaders were split between different groups behind him.

Kieran – younger brother of 2022 International Series England winner Scott Vincent – playing ahead of Yuan sank a birdie on his 72nd and final hole of the tournament for the lead that the Australian could not match and take the matter into a playoff. It handed the 25-year-old Vincent his maiden international title and a winner’s cheque of $360,000.

But it was Lahiri’s run at the top that held much of the attention through a captivating Sunday. The Indian star came to Vietnam with little preparation having skipped the LIV Golf Orlando event to attend to troubling personal issues, and could not have asked for better preparation ahead of Adelaide.

Playing near-faultless golf despite being bothered by a couple of niggles, Lahiri tracked Kanaya down before pulling level with four holes to go. Having picked up eight shots over his first 14 holes, Lahiri could only par the final four, though he had his chances.

“I’m happy with the way I played, disappointed not to make a couple ore coming in. A little upset not to make maybe one or two more in the last four holes which are very gettable,” said Lahiri, who has not won an international title since the 2015 Hero Indian Open but has some notable runner-up finishes both on the PGA Tour as well as at LIV Golf.

“You know I got off to a really good start. I kind of found my rhythm yesterday and today so that was nice,” he told the Asian Tour’s website. “A little upset not to make maybe one or two (birdies) in the last four holes which are very gettable. So yeah, great week, but it’s disappointing. I’ve had so many seconds now I need to break this habit of mine.”

“Excited to take this form into the next few weeks. I think it is going to be an important stretch over the next month, month and a half.”

Fellow LIV Golf League member Paul Casey too warmed up for the Australian sojourn with a strong 12-under finish (74-64-72-66, 278). He and Lahiri rejoin Bryson DeChambeau’s Crushers GC at the Grange Golf Club in South Australia’s capital city for next week’s much-anticipated LIV Golf’s Antipodean debut.

The Crushers have already won once in the ongoing LIV Golf League season, at the opening event in Mayakoba, Mexico.

Vietnam was Lahiri’s second International Series event after his runner-up finish at the season-closing Indonesian Masters in 2022. Eight years earlier, the Indian star won the event before going on to dominate the Asian Tour the following year and also taking the Order of Merit title.

Ahead of the Vietnam event, Lahiri said, “With the International Series and LIV Golf coming to Asia, growing the game here has really become one of the main agendas and bringing so many of the best golfers to play in this region is going to have a huge impact.

“It’s there, it’s growing, and I think The International Series is doing a phenomenal job of accelerating that. If you ask the majority of golfers in Asia, or on this side of the world, they’re going to say, ‘I want to play on LIV’, and now there’s a pathway to get there.”