Casey Jarvis showed why he is being tipped for a very promising future after setting the pace at the Farmfoods Scottish Challenge at Newmachar.
The 20-year-old, who is leading the Challenge Tour order of merit, shot a six-under-par 65 to end the day tied at the top of the leaderboard alongside Sweden’s Christofer Blomstrand.
Jarvis had racked up three birdies and as many bogeys before his round exploded into life with an eagle two at the 14th which sparked a closing run of four birdies on the spin.
The South African, who was the Sunshine Tour rookie of the year for 2022-23, has already picked up a win on the Challenge Tour at the Euram Bank Open and runner-up finishes at the Czech Challenge and the Copenhagen Challenge.
He said: “For the eagle, I had 141 yards in from the middle of the fairway. The wind suited me. It was a left flag and my shape is a draw.
“I drew it in there pretty nicely.
“I couldn’t see the flag but my mum and dad were cheering so I knew it was in.
“I wasn’t playing well before that and I just fed off that.
“I hadn’t seen my parents for four months so it has been great seeing them again.
“They came to watch me last week (at the British Challenge) as well.
“I think they are pretty happy with how things are going. I certainly hope so.
“They have supported me since I was very young so it is nice to be able to show them that the hard work is paying off.
“It was a pleasing round. It started off a bit shaky but I finished really strong.”
The South African is playing on the DP World Tour next week when he tees up in the ISPS Handa World Invitational at Galgorm Castle.
And with the Challenge Tour number one firmly on track to graduate to the main tour, Jarvis hopes it will be useful experience ahead of next season.
He said: “I am really looking forward to next week.
“I’m delighted to be in the field and it looks like it is going to be good fun.
“The Challenge Tour is a really strong tour and it is going to be really beneficial when you are playing against the best players from across Europe.
“It has been really helpful to play different golf courses and on different types of grass.
“The course at Newmachar is unbelievable.
“It is not what I expected at the beginning of the week.
“I expected it to be a parkland course when I saw the trees but it has links type of grass and a links firmness to it. It’s a really good course.”
Road to Mallorca No.1 Casey Jarvis takes the early lead in Scotland. 🔥#ScottishChallenge
— Challenge Tour (@Challenge_Tour) August 10, 2023
Joint leader Blomstrand, who sits 46th in the Challenge Tour’s order of merit, had a bogey-free 65 with three birdies on the front nine and the same coming home.
Seven players sit one shot off the lead including Aberdeen’s David Law and Glasgow’s Calum Fyfe.
Aussie Jordan Zunic, Tomas Gouveia from Portugal, Frenchman Jerome Lando-Casanova, Swede Jesper Svensson and Northern Ireland’s Jonathan Caldwell also opened with rounds of 66.
Dominic Foos, Jack McDonald and Lee Slatery are well-placed on four under.
New putter helps David Law hit the birdie trail at the Farmfoods Scottish Challenge
