Casey Jarvis weathers the Stellenbosch storm to claim maiden SA Open victory

Neither driving rain, a passing thunderstorm and lightning that briefly halted play as he stood on the 18th hole, nor the sheer toughness of the 115th South African Open over the last four days could deter Casey Jarvis in his quest to claim a maiden South African crown.

Jarvis secured back-to-back DP World Tour victories, following his exploits in Kenya last weekend, after an excellent Sunday of golf in Stellenbosch, despite the elements in the Winelands doing everything to throw him off his game.

Following a strong third round in which he took the outright lead by one shot, and unlike his challengers over the first two rounds, he never relinquished it.

The 22-year-old closed with a par on the 18th, signing off with a three-under-par 67 to win the SA Open by two shots. The victory secured him entry into The Open Championship and the Masters at Augusta National in 39 days’ time.

It was a nervy wait on the final hole for his first shot as inclement weather halted play just before 4pm. Jarvis did everything he could to stay in the moment and avoid stiffening up in the delay.

There was a nail-biting moment when he mishit his tee shot with a 3-wood after someone laughed during his downswing. The ball didn’t travel far, but it left him in good position to attack the green with his second shot, which flew safely over the water hazard. Two putts later, punctuated by a celebratory fist pump, he sealed his first SA Open title.

“It was tough waiting for that storm to pass. We stayed outside on the 18th tee and I tried not to think about the lead. I spoke to my caddie to take my mind off what was happening,” Jarvis said, after his win.

“Obviously, I didn’t want that storm to happen, I just wanted to get it over with. You get a little stiff and tense waiting. Someone then laughed on my downswing on the tee box, I caught the ball a little thin and it went low, but luckily it was flying.”

For his approach shot, all he wanted was for the ball to find land and avoid the water.

“I wanted to put it anywhere on land; there was water to the left of the green. I didn’t have a good feeling when it was in the air because I pull that shot a lot. It’s probably the most nervous I’ve ever been in my life. Luckily, it landed on the green and to see that was unreal.”

Sunday’s play delivered four seasons.

Downpours hit as Jarvis and the other leaders made the turn. The sun scorched whenever it broke through the clouds. The wind added a chill over Stellenbosch Golf Club, and the brief lightning and thunder capped a seesaw four days of golf in tough and tricky conditions.

Three players finished tied for second on 11-under. South Africa’s Hennie du Plessis suffered an unfortunate dropped shot on the final hole to bogey. Italy’s Francesco Laporta and France’s Frederic Lacroix joined him as runners-up.

South Africans Daniel van Tonder and Haydn Porteous finished tied for sixth on 8-under, while Wilco Nienaber also claimed a top-10 place.

It’s not all done for Jarvis. He heads to the Joburg Open this weekend, chasing a third consecutive title. But Sunday evening in Stellenbosch was reserved for celebration with his family and friends.

Asked how he planned to toast the victory, there was only one answer: “There will be a lot of beer and champagne and many alcohol (sic).”

* Leighton Koopman is Independent Media senior rugby writer and host of The Last World on Rugby, our weekly rugby podcast on our Youtube channel The Clutch