By Bob Harig, in Augusta, GA, for the Cayman Compass
The ball flew perfectly off the clubface and landed on the right side of the green, taking the slope just as planned, and then trickling ever-so-slowly toward the hole.
As it got closer, the murmuring from the thousands surrounding the green got louder, so much so that Aaron Jarvis thought the ball was going in the hole. That it didn’t and stopped just a few feet away did not take the big smile off his face.
With the crowd roaring, Jarvis soaked it all in as he walked the length of the par-3, 16th hole and eventually tapped in his birdie putt after the perfectly struck 7-iron shot.
He wasn’t going to make the cut at the Masters, wasn’t really going to be close. But no matter. What a day, what a week, what an experience.
“I wish it did,’’ Jarvis said of his near ace that helped him shoot 2-over-par 74 in his second official round at Augusta National. “I thought it was (in) when it hit, it landed, and then the crowd was kind of amping me up. If it went in, it would have been . .. I don’t even know what would have happened. But it was a good shot anyways.’’
And it was a good day, too.
With conditions considerably cooler and the course playing tougher due to swirling winds, Jarvis, 19, improved on his first-round score by seven strokes.
Much more calm and under control, the first player from the Cayman Islands ever to compete in a major championship parred his first six holes, made a birdie at the seventh and then a bogey at the 18. He played the front side in even-par 36.
A double-bogey, bogey start to the final nine hurt, but Jarvis birdied the 12th, followed a bogey at the 13th with two more pars, then made his near tap-in birdie at the 16th before two pars to finish off an extremely impressive round.
“We had a blast,’’ said AJ McInerney, his coach at UNLV and his caddie for the week. “He has a lot to be proud of. He really came back strong today.’’
Jarvis finished at 155, 11 over par. That wasn’t good enough to make the 36-hole cut, but it earned him some respect and certainly did not hurt his confidence. Zach Johnson, who won a Masters and British Open and played with Jarvis, said “this will only help. He’s a great kid who can take a lot from this.”
Having qualified for the Masters by winning the Latin America Amateur Championship in January, Jarvis has soaked up the opportunity, coming here for two practice days in February, returning in March for three more and then getting here early of tournament week.
He met Tiger Woods on Sunday. Played a practice round with Brooks Koepka on Monday. Was in another practice round group with Adam Scott on Wednesday.
“The whole place, the people,’’ Jarvis said. “When I first came here, the elevation change was pretty surreal. But just knowing the history behind it and coming out here and getting a chance to play was unbelievable.
“I played pretty solid today. A couple mistakes to start my back nine, but hit it in better spots and just had more tap-in pars today, which was nice. Had two good shots on the par-3s on the back. But I just enjoyed the whole thing. I knew that, if I was just patient and calm throughout the whole day, I know I can come out here and post a good score, and that’s what I did today.’’
Jarvis matched the score on Friday shot by Woods, and was better than the likes of Daniel Berger, Viktor Hovland, Jordan Spieth and Xander Schauffele.
Now it’s back to reality. Jarvis heads back to UNLV, where he is a freshman, for the remainder of the college season. The Rebels leave on a trip next week for a tournament at Arizona State.
The summer promises to be busy, too. By virtue of his Latin American Amateur victory, Jarvis also earned a spot in final qualifying for the U.S. Open, putting him one step away from playing in another major championship. He also earned a spot in the British Open at St. Andrews – where Johnson won in 2015.
“Now I just keep doing what I’m doing, keep playing, keep getting better each day. I think I love playing with the crowd. Just I got used to the pressure starting the week, which was really different with all the people. But throughout the whole week, kind of knew how to deal with the crowd.
“So I think just going forward, keep doing what I can do to get better each day, and then hopefully I can be back here and compete.’’
Aaron Jarvis at The Masters
- Round two recap: Hole-by-hole coverage
- Jarvis shoots nine-over-par on history-making Masters debut
- Round one recap: Hole-by-hole coverage of Jarvis at the Masters
- Jarvis ‘living the dream’ as Masters moment arrives
- Jarvis paired with former Masters champ Johnson in round one
- Cayman’s Aaron Jarvis on course to make history
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