Casey Jarvis has been known as a top-class talent for some time now and the Sunshine Tour rookie produced a display of his considerable ability as he fired a brilliant four-under-par 68 on Friday to snatch a two-stroke lead after the second round of the prestigious PGA Championship at the St Francis Links.
The 19-year-old Jarvis goes into the weekend on a total of eight-under-par, two ahead of a chasing pack on six-under which includes a pair of decorated veterans in George Coetzee and Hennie Otto.
Jarvis, a star for the GolfRSA squad on fairways around the world before he turned pro this year, was a shot off the lead at the start of the second round. A measured front nine saw him reach the turn in level-par, with two birdies and two bogeys, but he then produced a sensational back nine.
He netted a pair of birdies on the par-four 10th and 11th holes, and then conquered the famous 533-yard, par-five 13th with an eagle. With a tricky run of holes into the wind to finish, Jarvis did well to come home in par and complete a memorable day in his fledgling pro career.
“My iron play was really good today, I struck the ball well and I started pretty solid, but I didn’t make many putts. But then I hit good shots at 10 and 11, where I made a long putt, and a very good eagle at 13 after a great drive and hitting a wedge in to 10 feet,” Jarvis said.
“The wind picked up on the back nine and it was a strong breeze, there was wind on the front nine as well but it was not as hard. From 15 onwards, we were into the wind, so it was a tricky finish.
“I haven’t been in this position before on the Sunshine Tour and it’s great to be there, I’m really excited. I must just try not to get ahead of myself on the weekend, take it one shot at a time,” the leading amateur in the 2020 SA Open, said.
Coetzee had an up-and-down front nine with back-to-back birdies on the fifth and sixth holes, but then three successive bogeys before the turn. He was now slipping a bit behind Jarvis, but a precious run of three consecutive birdies from the 12th meant he would still finish under-par and stay well in touch despite another bogey on the par-three penultimate hole.
Malcolm Mitchell played excellent golf to also shoot a 68 and climb into the share of second with just one dropped shot on Friday. Otto shot a fine 69 to also sit on six-under at the halfway mark, while Rhys West and Hennie O’Kennedy posted two-under 70s to also share second.
But Martin Vorster was the biggest climber up the leaderboard with his 67, the joint-best round of the day that vaulted him from tied-19th into the share of second.
Jake Redman also fired a 67 to sit a shot further back on five-under-par.
SECOND ROUND SCORES
136 - Casey Jarvis 68 68
138 - George Coetzee 67 71, Rhys West 68 70, Malcolm Mitchell 70 68, Hennie Otto 69 69, Hennie O'Kennedy 68 70, Martin Vorster 71 67
139 - Jake Redman 72 67
140 - Dylan Mostert 72 68, Stefan Wears-Taylor 69 71, Danie Van Niekerk 67 73
141 - Erhard Lambrechts 71 70, Samuel Simpson 69 72
142 - Jayden Schaper 71 71, CJ du Plessis 73 69, Robin Williams 72 70, Peter Karmis 72 70, Jake Roos 68 74, Luke Jerling 74 68
143 - Combrinck Smit 71 72, Merrick Bremner 70 73, Kyle Barker 75 68, Albert Venter 73 70, Richard Joubert 74 69, Jean Hugo 70 73, Matias Calderon 73 70, Stephen Ferreira 73 70, Lindani Ndwandwe 70 73
144 - Clinton Grobler 72 72, Jacques Blaauw 73 71, Heinrich Bruiners 74 70, Steve Surry 73 71, JJ Senekal 68 76, Doug McGuigan 72 72, Bradley Bawden 72 72, Jean-Paul Strydom 72 72, Madalitso Muthiya 74 70, Sean Bradley 72 72, Thanda Mavundla 74 70, Siyanda Mwandla 76 68