Casey Jarvis held his nerve to capture his second straight DP World Tour title on Sunday, taking the Investec South African Open by three shots at the Stellenbosch golf club on Sunday.
The 22-year-old, who landed the magical Kenya Open in Nairobi last weekend, started the day with a one-stroke advantage and quickly stretched the gap with three birdies on the first five holes.
But then Jarvis, who has the ability to weave his club like a wand to shoot low scores, had to use his magic to stay at the top, knocking pitches close and draining several testing par putts that might have overwhelmed others in his position.
The 22-year-old completed the last 13 holes in level par, but those must count as some of the most mature golf he’s delivered in the heat of battle.
His three-under-par 67 lifted him to 14 under par, with Hennie du Plessis, Frederick Lacroix of France and Italian Francesco Laporta ending tied for second.
Jarvis’s victory earned him entries into the US Masters and the British Open, while Lacroix and Laporta also received tickets to the Open.
But this contest wasn’t settled until Jarvis hit his approach into the 18th green, though even that presented him with some agonising moments as he watched, stomach in mouth, as the ball flew through the air, flirting dangerously with the water on the left.
“I wasn’t aiming where I hit it,” said Jarvis. “I was aiming right of the green, hoping to just somehow be on land because there’s water just left of the green.
“I came out left pretty much over the water and I didn’t have a good feeling when it was in the air, but to see it land on the green, yeah, I was so nervous, so nervous when it was in the air.”
The ball pitched left side of the green and Jarvis’s face melted into a smile of relief for the first time in a round that had been played mostly on tenterhooks.
Du Plessis had chipped in for birdie on the 17th to narrow the gap to two shots with one to play, and then the players, on the 18th tee, were called off for nearly half an hour after the lightning siren sounded amid a heavy downpour.
Jarvis stayed out there, talking to caddie Conrad Loubser, the brother of player Herman, who finished the tournament on three under par.
“I just kind of spoke to my caddie, we had a chat, took my mind off what was happening.”
They came back and Jarvis caught his tee shot thin, put off by a spectator laughing on his downswing. “It was fine, luckily.”
Du Plessis’ challenge ended with his approach into 18, which found dry land before spinning back into the water.
There was something extra special about this triumph, given that Jarvis had come into the week not feeling great.
Early in the tournament he came off the course talking about needing to go to the range to try find his swing.
Gonna be a lot of beer, a lot of champagne.
— Casey Jarvis
The Boksburg golfer, who volunteered at the 2017 SA Open at Glendower so he could get close to Irish star Rory McIlroy, scratched around the first two days, scoring 67 and 68 before stamping his authority with a 64 on Saturday.
But on Sunday he had to fight again while maintaining his composure to become the second South African to achieve two back-to-back wins on the tour after Jayden Schaper in the final two tournaments of 2025.
That is the mark of a truly great golfer who is hoping to play in the same field as Tiger Woods, another of his childhood heroes, at Augusta.
For now he plans to celebrate before teeing it up at the Joburg Open at Houghton this week.
“Gonna be a lot of beer, a lot of champagne.”
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