Casey Jarvis held his nerve on the final day of the Euram Bank Open at Golf Club Adamstal to secure a memorable maiden Challenge Tour victory.
The South African took a five stroke lead into the final round, and despite a late charge from Scotland’s Euan Walker, Jarvis kept his composure to par the final hole and secure a one shot victory with a one under par round of 69 to add to rounds of 65-63-65 earlier in the week.
The 19-year-old, who has registered three second place finishes already on the 2023 Road to Mallorca, was delighted to get over the line.
“I haven’t felt this good in a long time walking off a golf course,” he said. “I didn’t think winning would be this special. It’s an unbelievable feeling.
“I had those second place finishes in the back of my mind pretty much the whole day so I didn’t want it to happen again, and luckily I got it done.
“I’ve learned a lot being in contention throughout this year. I felt like I had experience under that pressure. I still felt a lot of pressure today, but I’m really happy with the way I handled it.
“I’ve got a lot of confidence right now, so I feel like that I’m going to run with that confidence through the next events I play in and see how it goes.”
Jarvis made his first gain of the day on the third hole to extend his lead to six, and despite three dropped shots on his next two holes, he would birdie the sixth and eighth to remain four clear at the turn.
The South African then birdied the 12th before a two shot swing at the 13th, with Jarvis making a bogey and Walker a birdie. Despite Jarvis making a birdie at the par five 15th, Walker holed out from the bunker for eagle to close the gap to one.
The Scot looked to be out of the running when he bogeyed the 16th, but he birdied 17 to get back within one going down the last, however it was Jarvis who prevailed, with both parring the last.
“It all started on hole 13,” he added. “Euan hit it long right and I’ve never seen a chip as good in my life. He bladed it from the rough and holed it.
“Then the par five up the hill, the 15th, he hit an unbelievable bunker shot and holed that as well. There was nothing I could’ve done about it. I just had to stick to my own game plan and I’m so glad that it worked.”
Walker ended the day one shot behind in second place on 17 under par, with American Julian Suri in solo third four shots further back on 13 under par, and Frenchman Robin Roussel in fourth on 12 under par. Tomas Gouveia from Portugal, Englishman Sam Hutsby and Frenchman Romain Wattel shared fifth on 11 under par.
The win sees Jarvis move to the top of the Road to Mallorca Rankings, overtaking Frenchman Ugo Coussaud who drops to second. Italian Matteo Manassero, Spaniard Manuel Elvira and Italian Lorenzo Scalise all drop one place to third, fourth and fifth respectively. – European Challenge Tour
