By Michael Vlismas
Casey Jarvis, a 19 years-old, Sunshine Tour rookie, produced a display of considerable ability today at St Francis Links when he fired a brilliant four-under-par 68 to snatch a two-stroke lead after the second round of the prestigious PGA Championship at the St Francis Links.
Jarvis now 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 has been recognised for his top-class talent and this GolfRSA squad star on fairways around the world before turning 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 here. I’m really excited. I must just try not to get ahead of myself on the weekend, and take it one shot at a time,” th is 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. – Edited
Scores at the end of Round 2:
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
Missed the cut:-
145 – Greig Hutcheon 72 73, Jared Harvey 70 75, Callum Mowat 72 73, Martin Rohwer 73 72, Wallie Coetsee 71 74, MJ Viljoen 70 75
146 – Franklin Manchest 72 74, Alex Haindl 75 71, Wynand Dingle 75 71, Harry Konig 73 73, Jacques P de Villiers 70 76, Rupert Kaminski 79 67, Dean O’Riley 72 74, Luke Trocado 71 75, Chris Cannon 71 75, Duane Keun 74 72, Nikhil Rama 75 71, Kyle McClatchie 71 75, Louis Albertse 73 73, Ryan Tipping 71 75
147 – James Kamte 76 71, Clayton Mansfield 74 73, Kevin Rhoderick 80 67
148 – Jacques Kruyswijk 74 74, Ulrich van den Berg 76 72, Shaahid Mahmed 75 73, Dayne Moore 75 73, Brooklin Bailey 73 75, Greg Bentley 70 78
149 – Ruan Conradie 82 67, Hayden Griffiths 77 72, Estiaan Conradie 78 71, Keelan van Wyk 77 72, Jovan Rebula 77 72, Toto Thimba Jnr 76 73, Andre De Decker 71 78
150 – Christiaan Basson 80 70, Ryan Van Velzen 76 74, Michael Kok 72 78
151 – James Searson 74 77, Ruan de Smidt 80 71, Keagan Thomas 76 75, Pierre Pellegrin 74 77, Luca Filippi 72 79, Joe Long 75 76, Ruan Korb 74 77, Makhetha Mazibuko 74 77, Musiwalo Nethunzwi 77 74, Gerard du Plooy 77 74
152 – Blanche Lamprecht 75 77, Clancy Waugh 72 80, Ockie Strydom 73 79, Therion Nel 72 80
153 – James Pennington 75 78, Michael Palmer 79 74, Herman Loubser 74 79, Gregg Upton 75 78, Maverick Faber 74 79, Tumelo Molloyi 78 75, Sean Cronje 73 80
154 – Lyle Rowe 83 71, Karabo Mokoena 75 79, Wade Jacobs 75 79, Vaughn van Deventer 71 83
155 – Reinhardt Blaauw 79 76, Fredrik From 75 80
156 – Adam Breen 77 79, Quintin Wilsnach 82 74
157 – Henning du Plooy 80 77, Steven Le Roux 77 80, Aneurin Gounden 76 81, Tristin Galant 72 85, Adriel Poonan 79 78
158 – Fezekile Kana 80 78
159 – Divan van den Heever 79 80
160 – Jannie Botha 79 81, Ivano Ficalbi 80 80, Paul Boshoff 79 81
162 – Dean Nysschen 86 76, Luan Boshoff 79 83, Chris Swanepoel 80 82
164 – Andy Haasbroek 83 81, Ricki Dembo 82 82
166 – Mike Maile 87 79
168 – Gerrit Foster 88 80
169 – Morten Bredahl 82 87
170 – Gareth Sargent 90 80
171 – Mandla Dlamini Jnr 85 86
173 – Brandon-Jude Rennie 85 88
175 – Tyrone Lorusso 87 88
176 – Keelan Africa 92 84
179 – Richard Kruger 93 86
WDN – Riekus Nortje 79 WDN, Evance Vukeya 87 WDN
DSQ – Irvin Mazibuko 75 DSQ
Round 1 of the PGA, yesterday 3 November, St Francis Links, South Africa
St Francis Chronicle 