Casey Jarvis called it “My greatest putt in front of my home crowd” as he made an incredible par at the last to wild cheers from the crowd that earned him the lead in the Investec South African Open Championship at Stellenbosch Golf Club on Saturday.
Jarvis signed for a third round of 64 to claim a one-stroke lead on 11 under par. His nearest challengers are fellow South African Hennie du Plessis, who signed for a 67, and Italian Francesco Laporta, who posted a 70, on 10 under par.
Jarvis hit his second on the par-four 18th far right and into the hospitality before going on to hole a 23-footer for par that brought an almighty cheer from the crowd.
“It was such a cool moment. The home support is fantastic. I love playing here,” said the young South African, who is hunting back-to-back victories on the DP World Tour after winning in Kenya last week.
The incredible atmosphere on Saturday made an impact on all the players.
“The crowds definitely kept me going. It’s a pity not every event is like this. I’ve never experienced this before,” said Du Plessis.
And Laporta agreed. “The crowd was amazing. It was crazy.”
They needed every bit of that support on a day when this Stellenbosch Golf Club course again showed itself to be an incredibly fair test, and with a change in wind direction making it even harder.
“It wasn’t easy out there today. It’s not an easy course. I started slowly and was one under through seven holes, and everything changed when I chipped in on eight. Then I said, ‘Ok, let’s go’,” said Jarvis, who birdied four of his next five holes to begin his charge.
Jarvis has put aside the memories of his breakthrough DP World Tour victory last week and says he’s completely focused on the job at hand here in Stellenbosch.
“Right now I’m focused on winning this tournament. There are a lot of good players up on the leaderboard and I’m just trying to stay patient and we’ll see what happens.”
Behind him, Du Plessis feels a similar sense that he’s peaking at the right time in this championship.
“I’m in the mix and I’m up for it,” he said.
And Laporta is just as focused, with exemptions into The Masters and The Open up for grabs on Sunday.
“Sunday is a big day. I’m in contention and I’m looking forward to it,” he said.
SCORES
199 – Casey Jarvis 67 68 64
200 – Hennie du Plessis 70 63 67
200 – Francesco Laporta 66 64 70
202 – Calum Hill 70 67 65
203 – Kieron van Wyk 70 69 64
203 – Xander Basson 67 70 66, Nathan Kimsey 66 65 72
204 – Daniel van Tonder 72 68 64
204 – Frederic Lacroix 69 71 64, Angel Ayora 67 70 67, Haydn Porteous 67 69 68, Branden Grace 69 66 69, Joe Dean 65 68 71, Dean Burmester 65 67 72
205 – Rafa Cabrera Bello 70 68 67
205 – Adrian Otaegui 67 68 70, Alejandro Del Rey 65 69 71
206 – Andy Sullivan 73 67 66
206 – Jayden Schaper 68 71 67, Sam Bairstow 69 70 67, JC Ritchie 71 68 67, Keenan Davidse 72 66 68, Romain Langasque 70 68 68, Eddie Pepperell 70 67 69, Johannes Veerman 66 70 70, Kiradech Aphibarnrat 67 67 72, Rikuya Hoshino 67 67 72, Herman Loubser 66 67 73
207 – Darius van Driel 71 69 67
207 – Benjamin Follett-Smith 71 69 67, Ewen Ferguson 68 72 67, Shaun Norris 70 70 67, Jason Scrivener 69 70 68, Oliver Lindell 65 72 70, Jeff Winther 68 69 70, Antoine Rozner 68 68 71
208 – Jens Dantorp 72 69 67
208 – Todd Clements 70 68 70, Bernd Wiesberger 68 69 71, Wilco Nienaber 70 66 72
209 – Samuel Simpson 70 71 68
209 – Scott Jamieson 72 69 68, Marcus Armitage 70 70 69, Dylan Frittelli 67 73 69, Wenyi Ding 69 71 69, Patrick Reed 71 69 69, Niklas Norgaard 70 69 70, Daniel Rodrigues 72 67 70, Darren Fichardt 70 69 70, Alex Fitzpatrick 68 71 70, Altin van der Merwe 68 70 71, Hennie Otto 70 68 71, Brandon Stone 69 69 71, Malcolm Mitchell 70 67 72, Pierre Viallaneix 71 65 73
210 – Manuel Elvira 74 67 69
210 – Tyran Snyders 70 70 70, Martin Couvra 73 67 70, Dian Kruger 70 68 72, Matthew Jordan 68 70 72, Julien Guerrier 69 69 72, Justin Walters 71 65 74
211 – Freddy Schott 69 72 70
211 – Matteo Manassero 70 71 70, Jacob Olesen 75 66 70, Louis Albertse 69 70 72, MJ Viljoen 69 68 74, Kota Kaneko 71 66 74
212 – Justin Harding 70 71 71
212 – Charl Barnard 71 69 72, David Ravetto 71 69 72, Robin Williams 68 70 74, Ockie Strydom 70 67 75
213 – Marcus Kinhult 73 68 72
214 – Ugo Coussaud 70 70 74
215 – Karabo Mokoena 70 71 74
215 – Logan Leisher 72 69 74
216 – Ryggs Johnston 74 67 75
Photo: Sunshine Tour
Article Link: Jarvis saves par at the last, heads into Sunday leading