Round-up:
Aaron Jarvis endured a baptism of fire Thursday as he took on some of the world’s best golfers and one of the sport’s toughest courses to make history for Cayman.
It was not the performance Jarvis would have dreamed of as he prepared to take his US Masters bow, but it was not the stuff of nightmares either. The 19-year-old shot 81 for the round, finishing nine-over-par and at the back of the pack.
But he is close enough to the rest of the field to believe he can remedy that on day two.
And as the first Caymanian to represent his homeland on this stage, he did the islands proud.
“It was not easy but I had a blast from the start,” Jarvis told the media after his round.
Jarvis did not look out of place in an elite field that included all-time-great Tiger Woods, whose comeback drew thousands to the Augusta National Golf Course in Georgia.
But small margins stand between a top amateur like Jarvis and the best in the business.
A lack of experience on the slick greens and amid the high pressure of the crowds and cameras that come with elite level golf, may have impacted the youngster’s chances.
Birdies on the 8th and 12th were the highlights of his round, but shaky putting cost him on a number of occasions and he finished with a scorecard pockmarked with bogeys.
Even amid the struggles, he remained unflappable in his lime-green shirt and kept his cool, bouncing back from setbacks and never letting the occasion get the better of him.
After a shaky start, his driving off the tee was immaculate all day and a few lucky breaks here and there might have seen him closer to the middle of the pack.
It will take a miracle now for him to claw his way up the leaderboard and achieve his target of making the halfway cut, but Jarvis’ story so far is testimony to the grain of truth in the marketing slogan of his shirt sponsor Adidas – ‘impossible is nothing’.
We’ll have more details and comments from Aaron later tonight when Bob Harig files his report from Augusta and we will be back with live updates Friday. Jarvis is scheduled to tee off at 11:24am Cayman time.
2:05pm: Jarvis +9 through 18 holes
A tough break as his tee shot skews right, but he plays out of the dirt well and finishes with a bogey to end at nine-over-par for the round. That puts him at the back of the pack so far but he is close enough that a decent performance on day two will allow him to climb up the leaderboard.
1:45pm: Jarvis +8 through the 17th hole
The tee shot here is long but wayward, causing spectators on the right side of the fairway to run for cover.
He finds the sand to the left of the green – I think that is the first bunker he has hit today – but gets up and down in two for another par, courtesy of an exceptional putt.
1:30pm: Jarvis +8 through the 16th hole
Jarvis clears the lake on the par-3 16th and then almost nails a gargantuan 60-foot putt for birdie, leaving himself a five-footer for par. He narrowly misses what would usually be a routine putt for a player of his calibre and adds another bogey to the scorecard. Two holes left to claw that back.
1:15pm: Jarvis +7 through the 15th hole
“Beauty” is the shout as Jarvis slams a 270-yard drive right into the meat of the fairway on the par-5 15th. He avoids a treacherous water hazard on the fringes of the green and narrowly misses a monster putt for birdie, before tapping in for par. Three holes left now and he will want to get a couple of birdies in the bag to stay on the edge of the pack overnight.
12:55pm: Jarvis +7 through the 14th hole
On the 14th it is another 300-plus yard drive that rolls to the edge of the fairway. The second shot goes up high just left of the flag, but strong wind pushes the ball beyond the green.
Another tricky up and down from 10 yards out below the hole, leaves a 5-footer for par.
But the teenager misses to the right.
12:40pm: Jarvis +6 through the 13th hole
A decent drive, but the Caymanian skews his second shot to the right. He clears most of the major obstacles, including a necklace of water on the front side of the green, but needs a chip and an excellent putt from 14 feet to save par. A reminder of how tough this course is. There are more than 70 of the world’s best golfers out there right now and only 12 of them are under par.
12:25pm: Jarvis +6 through the 12th hole
Redemption comes quickly on the 153 yard par-3, where the flag stick is nestled between the water and bunkers both in front and behind the green. What could possibly go wrong?
Jarvis makes it look easy and 151 yards later the ball stops on command four feet from the hole. Birdie chance. Converted with aplomb.
12:10pm: Jarvis +7 through the 11th hole
Jarvis is entering the most treacherous part of the course now where even the world’s top pros get into hot water. The par-4 11th hole is not only 505 yards long, but also littered with hazards (pond and bunker) around the green.
Jarvis starts by sending his tee shot 273 yards to right into the trees, accompanied by a loud shout of “fore” from his caddie. The damage is limited, however, because even from the fairway a common approach is to lay up short of the green, which he duly does.
But up and down is no easy feat on Augusta greens. Following a chip, it is another two-putt for a bogey.
11:50am: Jarvis +6 through the 10th hole
The second half of Jarvis’ round starts much like the first, with a bogey. He didn’t do too much wrong here but there is little margin for error at Augusta and missing a difficult mid-range putt costs him par.
Ominously, he is now coming up to the most iconic, and perhaps the trickiest, trio of holes in golf.
The 11th, 12th and 13th holes are deceptively picturesque. Known as ‘Amen corner’, golfers are advised to say a prayer before they tee-up.
11:30am: Jarvis +5 through the ninth hole
It’s been a rocky start for the youngster and he reaches the turn at five over par after another bogey on the ninth. The greens at Augusta are typically lightning quick, though the wet weather may have tempered that a little. Either way, the youngster is struggling to judge the speed and he three-putts here, failing to take advantage of two immaculate drives. A lack of experience of the course and of different conditions is probably hurting him here in comparison with the pros.
11:05am: Jarvis +4 through the eighth hole
It’s the first birdie of the day for the 19-year-old who casually fist bumps his caddie after holing from 7 feet. Two immaculate drives and a tidy chip from the edge of the green set him up for that. Onward to the ninth and hopefully more of that to come.
10:50am: Jarvis +5 through the seventh hole
A superb 300-foot drive helps Jarvis get on the green in two and this time he does the business with the putter to make par.
10:40am: A quick guide to golf jargon
We’re conscious that many people tuning in to follow Aaron’s progress may not be familiar with the unique language of the sport of golf and interested solely in the fact that a Caymanian is on the big stage.
For the uninitiated, a bogey means one-over-par. A double-bogey is two-over-par. For the really uninitiated par is the number of strokes the player is expected to require to complete the hole. Their score for the round is judged against that metric – so Jarvis is currently five shots worse off than he would want to be after six holes. If he goes under-par on any hole, that’s a birdie. Two under-par and that’s an eagle.
To keep it simple: Bogeys bad, birdies good.
10:35am: Jarvis +5 through the sixth hole
Jarvis is back in bogey town and it is a double this time as he has a nightmare on the green at the par-3 sixth. His tee shot goes left. His follow-up chip races within inches of the flag but rolls away down a steep decline to the edge of the green. His next putt doesn’t make it back up the slope and rolls back almost to where it started. He gets it right on the second try and then holes for a double-bogey. We can’t say enough that this is a tough, tough course for a seasoned pro, let alone a 19-year-old in his first big tournament. It could be a long day out there for Aaron. He’s in good company though. Former winner Vijay Singh is propping up the field on six-over.
10:20am: Jarvis +3 through the fifth hole
Jarvis makes the most of a great drive off the tee and finds the green in two. An excellent putt from 50 feet puts him in range and he coolly collects par to leave him on three-over for the round.
10:10am: All eyes on Tiger
The crowd swells around the first tee as Tiger Woods makes his comeback to the big-time. Jarvis, who got to chat with the legend earlier this week, said Tiger told him to relax and have fun.
He’s hit a decent tee shot on the fifth and can toil on in relative anonymity for now with all eyes and all the cameras focussed on Tiger.
10am: Jarvis +3 through the fourth hole
The bogeys are racking up now for Jarvis, who has to be careful this round does not start to get away from him. It’s a tough course and it is not unusual to go well over par here, especially in difficult weather conditions.
His tee shot is just short on the par-3 fourth and he two-putts for another lost shot.
9:45am: Jarvis +2 through the third hole
The tee shot is good this time, drawing plaudits from his playing partner Zach Johnson. His second shot looks like it’s headed for the green, but rolls back. His chip shot falls short and he is left with a chip and a putt for another bogey.
9:30am: Jarvis +1 through the second hole
This time the tee shot goes left and it is in the trees. He has to take a drop-shot, then he finds the rough on the back of the green with a huge drive that draws gasps from the crowd. He chips and putts to save par and breaks into a massive grin of relief. He’s holding his own here on one of the world’s toughest courses.
9 a.m: Jarvis +1 through first hole
Huge moment for Jarvis and for Cayman as he lines up in front of a large crowd on the first tee. Showing a few understandable nerves he creams a 250-yard drive into the dirt on the right edge of the fairway. He chips out and then plays a beautiful drive onto the green and is down in two for a bogey five. Not a bad start for the young man.
Jarvis at The Masters
8:45am:
After a slight rain delay, the US Masters is under way and Jarvis, playing with two-time major winner Zach Johnson and former Players Championship winner Si Woo Kim, is about to tee off.
Speaking on the eve of the tournament, Jarvis, who is making history for Cayman as the first player from the islands to compete in the famous event, said he already felt like a winner.
“The main objective is to enjoy the experience and learn. It is very difficult to put into words what I have been living these days here in Augusta, it is a dream come true,” said Jarvis, who has practised with Sergio Garcia and Brooks Koepka and got some advice from Tiger Woods.
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