STELLENBOSCH, South Africa (AP) — Casey Jarvis seized control with three birdies in his opening five holes and closed with a 3-under 67 to win the South African Open on Sunday, earning the 22-year-old South African a spot in the Masters and the British Open this year.
Jarvis won for the second straight week on the European tour, following his victory last week in the Kenya Open.
“I just had a slight feeling at the start of the week that something crazy was going to happen,” Jarvis said after his three-shot victory at Stellenbosch Golf Club.
The timing was ideal. For the first time, the Masters offered an invitation to the winner of the South African Open. Golf's third-oldest national championship also provided three spots to the leading players not already eligible for the British Open in July at Royal Birkdale.
Francesco Laporta of Italy closed with a 69 and tied for second with Frederic Lacroix of France (65) and Hennie Du Plessis of South Africa (69).
Du Plessis was the main challenger to Jarvis for most of the day. He was two shots behind playing the 18th but finished with a bogey, which cost him a spot in the British Open. Those places went to Laporta and Lacroix because of their better world ranking.
Jarvis has played only one major, earning a spot in the 2024 U.S. Open through a 36-hole qualifier in England. He missed the cut at Pinehurst No. 2. He moves into the top 100 in the world for the first time and could be in line for an invitation to the PGA Championship in May.
“It's my dream as a kid to play at Augusta,” Jarvis said. “I thought about it in the morning — it's hard not to think about it. I cannot wait to go there and see how my game compares with the best players in the world.”
Starting the final round with a one-shot lead, Jarvis holed a 40-foot birdie putt on the opening hole, hit his approach to 2 feet for birdie on No. 4 and made a third birdie on the par-5 fifth. He finished with six straight pars for a 14-under 266.
Jarvis is the second South African to win back-to-back on the European tour this season, following Jayden Schaper winning in consecutive weeks at the Alfred Dunhill Championship and the Mauritius Open at the end of December.
Former Masters champion Patrick Reed, who leads the Race to Dubai, shot 68 in the final round and tied for 29th.
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
“Powerful, moving, and exhilarating” Read moreSongs For A New World
Sherri Roberts Quartet with Sherri Roberts vocals, Dave Udolf piano, Chris Amberger bass, an… Read more"I'm Hip" A Tribute to the Hep-Cat Singers-Songwriters of Jazz
Exclusive film screening in San Mateo Read moreA LITTLE FELLOW: THE LEGACY OF A.P.GIANNINI
CA Is Burning said:
CA Is Burning said:
Well, isn't that a universal problem, the government thinking they know what's best for mankind and our earth?
LittleFoot said:
LittleFoot said:
Trump doing Israel's bidding like a good little puppet. This guy is a legit demon.
Dirk van Ulden said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.