By Bob Harig at St Andrews, Scotland, for the Cayman Compass
A loud roar went up beside the 18th green at the Old Course on Saturday afternoon, and it wasn’t for Jordan Spieth, the three-time major champion who was teeing off on the adjacent first hole.
The yelling was for Aaron Jarvis, who was finishing up his even-par 72 score with a final-hole birdie in the third round of The Open, which elicited cheers from quite the Cayman entourage.
Mom, dad, brother, cousins, assorted other family members, friends, acquaintances – a couple of dozen in all – made the trip from Grand Cayman to watch Jarvis, a 19-year-old amateur compete in the game’s oldest championship.
“It’s a big group,’’ Jarvis said Saturday after completing the third round. “I know my family and friends have come out here, and it means the world to me to have all this support. They cheer loud for me, so it’s great to have them here.’’
Jarvis’ only regret is he did not give them more to cheer about on Saturday. After making the cut on the number at even par on Friday – a huge achievement for an amateur with so little experience on this stage – the hope was to get a few strokes under par and climb the leaderboard a bit more.
But after birdies at the second and ninth hole had him to 2 under par for the round, Jarvis could not sustain the momentum. He made bogeys at the 11th and 12th holes and another on the 17th, he was over par. His last-hole birdie got him back to even par for the tournament.
“I didn’t really get much going,’’ he said. “It was good on the front nine, just hit the wrong club on 11. It was gusting. We had a good number, then just went up, came down short. Then 12, I should have hit it past the pin, but I just got too cute with it and came up short. It was a solid round.
“It wasn’t like my putter was hot or anything like that. Just more steady, a lot of pars. There are some tricky pins out there, though. It’s tough to get to. The wind is howling all over the back nine. It’s swirling all over the place. We’ll see what the guys do this afternoon.’’
Jarvis is getting some pretty good training. The winner of the Latin America Amateur Championship in January, the teenager is taking full advantage of the perks that come with the victory, including spots in the Masters and The Open. Jarvis soaked it all in at Augusta National, playing numerous practice rounds, meeting Tiger Woods, getting experience with the big names in the game.
Same for the hallowed ground of St Andrews. He played the first two rounds with major champions Sergio Garcia and Stewart Cink. On Saturday, he played with South Korea’s Sunjae Im.
“Watching him take this step in the journey has been amazing,’’ said Jarvis’ coach from the Leadbetter Academy in Orlando, Fla., Zach Parker. “With each opportunity he’s becoming more comfortable and aware he belongs.
“Standing on the first tee (Friday) knowing he had to post a number (to make the 36-hole cut) and then watching him stay focused on his process goals and things within his control was phenomenal. So many young players would have become focused on the cut but Aaron focused on embracing the challenge and showcased he can step up by staying in the moment.’’
When Jarvis finished early afternoon on Friday, it appeared his even-par score of 144 would not make it to the weekend. But course conditions changed, and the number stayed right there. It wasn’t until early evening that Jarvis knew he’d have more tee time and that he’d made the cut in a major championship.
The fact that he wasn’t satisfied Saturday simply suggests he was not just happy to make it to the weekend.
As for Sunday, Jarvis will be an early start again, with one more day to experience the thrill of a lifetime.
“Just have fun, stick to the process and go out and shoot a good round,’’ he said.
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