Casey Jarvis turned on the charm on Monday with an eight-under-par 64 in the first round of the Big Easy IGT Challenge Tour’s Chase to the Sunshine Tour #36 at Centurion Country Club to open up a two-stroke lead.
The man who won the Freddie Tait Cup for the leading amateur in the last South African Open Championship started with an eagle on the opening par-five, but he dropped a shot on the par-three third. Birdies on six and nine saw him turn in three-under-par 33, and he was flawless coming home. He made five birdies in his homeward nine, on 12, 13, 15, 16 and 18.
He had a two-stroke lead over Jason Froneman, one of the form players on the tour right now, and there was a group of five players on five-under. Kyle McClatchie, Michael Kok and Thabang Simon were in a share of third.
Froneman was bogey-free for his 66, with three birdies on each nine. McClatchie, who won the last tournament on the circuit, made four birdies in a row ahead of the turn. He dropped two shots on the homeward nine, but he also made three birdies for his 67. Kok and Simon were both bogey-free.