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.
“🎶 Everyone’s terrified, Jarvis is on fire. 🔥 🎶 “
— Sunshine Tour (@Sunshine_Tour) February 28, 2026
Jarvis sends the home crowd into a rapture on the 18th hole. 👏 #InvestecSAOpen pic.twitter.com/wIHxYJcaBH
“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.
Low round of the day on moving day, a trio of 64’s #InvestecSAOpen @Sunshine_Tour pic.twitter.com/zYWfmC0Jqb
— Investec SA Open (@InvestecSAOpen) February 28, 2026
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
MISSED THE CUT
142 - Jorge Campillo 72 70
142 - Connor Syme 72 70, Davis Bryant 74 68, Jack Buchanan 69 73, Ruan Korb 71 71, Thriston Lawrence 68 74, Ricardo Gouveia 73 69, Maximilian Steinlechner 70 72, Luis Carrera 71 71, Dan Bradbury 69 73, Bryce Easton 71 71, Austin Bautista 73 69, Kieran Vincent 72 70, Lyle Rowe 70 72
143 - Dylan Naidoo 73 70
143 - Richie Ramsay 74 69, Bjorn Akesson 72 71, Gregorio De Leo 70 73, Thanda Mavundla 73 70, Jacques Kruyswijk 72 71, Ivan Cantero 71 72, Dylan Mostert 72 71, Ben Schmidt 71 72, Deon Germishuys 71 72, Ryan Van Velzen 68 75, Warwick Purchase 69 74
144 - Jeong Weon Ko 76 68
144 - Jamie Rutherford 77 67, Marcel Schneider 78 66, Allen John 70 74, Richard Sterne 74 70, Michael Hollick 69 75, Joost Luiten 71 73, Daniel Cronje 70 74
145 - Charl Schwartzel 77 68
145 - Rhys Enoch 76 69, Pieter Moolman 74 71, Robson Chinhoi 73 72, Joakim Lagergren 73 72, Will Enefer 77 68, Toto Thimba Jnr 70 75, Jean Hugo 71 74, Luke Brown 72 73
146 - Yurav Premlall 73 73
146 - Ernie Els 74 72, Jacques Blaauw 74 72, Jordan Gumberg 77 69, JJ Senekal 72 74, Cameron Adam 75 71, MJ Daffue 73 73, Luke Jerling 73 73, Jovan Rebula 72 74, Pablo Larrazabal 73 73, Tristen Strydom 70 76
147 - Judd Sundelson 71 76
147 - Jaco Ahlers 75 72, Joel Girrbach 72 75, Jonathan Broomhead 73 74, Oliver Bekker 73 74, Angel Hidalgo 75 72, Yuto Katsuragawa 72 75, Stephen Ferreira 74 73, Marcel Siem 73 74
148 - Sebastian Soderberg 75 73
148 - Keelan van Wyk 73 75, Tristin Galant 73 75, Franklin Manchest 76 72, Heinrich Bruiners 75 73, Brandon Robinson Thompson 72 76
149 - Nikhil Rama 77 72
149 - Rupert Kaminski 75 74, Martin Vorster 72 77, Merrick Bremner 77 72
151 - Jordan Duminy 76 75
151 - Nick Bachem 77 74
152 - Matthew Rossouw 76 76
156 - Neil Schietekat 79 77
RTD - George Coetzee RTD RTD