Masters bound: Behind Casey Jarvis’ life-changing three-week run on the DP World Tour

A rest week on the DP World Tour schedule has provided Casey Jarvis the chance to pause and reflect on a spectacular run of form that has shifted him from long-touted prospect to the newest breakout star.

Across the last three events, the South African has won twice and finished runner-up in the other to emerge as one of the game’s new wave of stars.

At the age of 22, Jarvis is at a career-high 69th in the Official World Golf Ranking and sits third on the Race to Dubai Rankings Delivered by DP World.

Ahead of him are Patrick Reed and Jayden Schaper, with Jarvis joining them as the third multiple winner so far this season after wins in back-to-back weeks at the Magical Kenya Open presented by absa and the Investec South African Open Championship.

I felt like I was going to win, I just had to wait for the right time.

Into his third consecutive season on the DP World Tour since promotion to the HotelPlanner Tour in 2023, Jarvis has widely been touted as a winner in waiting for some time.

But he admits seeing his countryman Schaper win over consecutive weeks earlier in the campaign provided the stimulus for him to follow suit and make his own big breakthrough.

"We grew up playing golf together so it was nice to see him win and it gave me the drive to hopefully get there," he says.

"I wanted to work harder. I wanted to win as well because I had the mindset that if he can do it, I know my game is at the same level, just as good as he is.

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“I felt like I was going to win, I just had to wait for the right time.

“I mean, I didn't expect it to happen so soon, but I knew it was going to happen eventually. I had a feeling it was going to happen this year.

“Dedication, hard work does eventually pay off.”

While claiming silverware on the DP World Tour is a new experience, success is something Jarvis is fast becoming used to.

In a three-week stretch in November last year, he won twice on home soil on the Sunshine Tour - instrumental in instilling an inner belief to perform when it counts most.

"That gave me the confidence I needed, it was mainly a mental thing," he adds as he enjoys some well-earned downtime in Cape Town.

"[Although] I think all parts of my game have gotten a lot better.

"I'm not struggling with a singular part of the game. I'm learning to put my whole game together.

"And even if one part's average, I'm not letting that get to me whereas I feel in previous years, I'd have let that get to me."

Singling out one aspect in particular, Jarvis credits an improvement in his putting from last year - highlighted by him being in the top five so far this season for both Putts per GIR and Putts per Round categories.

"I was struggling with the putting and that kind of affected the whole game," he says.

"So, I really learned how to manage it well and I think it's gone a long way. The putting has improved tremendously this year, especially over the last three weeks.

"I think I'm maybe averaging 26 putts where before I was averaging 30. So I think that's played a huge role."

In his rookie campaign on the DP World Tour in 2024, he played 34 events - more than any other player - as he reached the penultimate event in Abu Dhabi.

His thinking at the time was that in the long term it would help him learn the different challenges that come with playing a global schedule.

And while Jarvis sees the sense of irony that his wins have come on surfaces he grew up with, his approach has ultimately been to his benefit in that it made him a hardened competitor.

"I have learned over the last couple of years that breaks are important," he reflects.

"I think I did play too much in my rookie season, but I learned how to play the game. I learned how to play professional golf.

"That was very important because the grass overseas is so much different compared to back in South Africa or anywhere in Africa."

In a sport that is often so demanding due to its unrelenting nature, time for reflection is essential and Jarvis is constantly trying to learn and improve.

Those attributes, shaped in part through the grounding of his father and coach, Kevin, will be invaluable as he plots his next goals - with some notable milestones on the horizon.

As a result of his win at his national open at Stellenbosch Golf Club earlier this month, Jarvis will make his debut at the Masters Tournament in April, while he is also exempt for The Open Championship for the first time this summer.

It's what dreams are made of, particularly for him the prospect of teeing it up at Augusta National.

"I mean, obviously seeing the best players in the world there, I'm definitely going to feel starstruck," he says, with anticipation rather than fear.

"I've watched it on TV for all these years and now to finally be going there, I think I'm honestly just going to try and enjoy it.

"I'm going to have the mindset I've had on Tour and I don't think my mindset is going to change. I'm going to go there and try to win the golf tournament.

"Obviously, I know my game has to be on another level to win around there, but I'm going to go with a mindset of trying to finish the best I can, enjoy it and take everything in."

The upcoming Masters will be just Jarvis' second Major start, having missed the cut in his first at that level at the U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2 in 2024.

But that was then, and this is now. Jarvis freely admits to being a far better all-round golfer.

"That Major was crazy with how many people they were," he says. "So, I think that experience will really help.

"Apparently Augusta is also on another level with the fans and everything. But I kind of like playing in front of big crowds.

"So I think I'm going to take everything in. It's nice knowing my game has transformed to another level. I think I missed a cut there by four or five. I threw a lot of shots away at the end."

Jarvis' standout memory of watching the Masters growing up was seeing Charl Schwartzel win the Green Jacket in 2011 as a seven-year-old.

Currently, they, along with PGA TOUR winner Aldrich Potgieter, are the only South Africans in the field for the first Major of the year but Schaper is not far off securing a place through the Official World Golf Ranking.

And in Jarvis, Schaper and Potgieter among several others, the current crop of South African talent is set to be around at the top of the game for many years to come.

"The amount of good golfers we produce is a lot to do with the amateur side of things," he says.

"Golf RSA take us across the world as amateurs. What they do for young golfers just builds us to be the golfers we become."

Such is the rarity of sustaining the level of performance Jarvis has performed at in recent weeks, he came into last week’s Joburg Open with the chance to join Sir Nick Faldo and Seve Ballesteros as just the third player in the Tour’s history to have won three consecutive DP World Tour events.

While his bid for history came up just short, missing out on a play-off by one shot, the immediate disappointment has quickly given way to a feeling of immense pride and satisfaction.

It is often said that the DP World Tour is a family and Jarvis has been inundated with congratulatory messages from within the game, but one stood out in particular.

“I’ve had some nice messages from players, and it really, truly, means a lot,” he says.

“Obviously, playing with some of the players over the last few weeks, I've felt really respected.

“The best message came from Gary Player. He basically composed an e-mail and wrote me a letter just saying, well done, and he's looking forward to seeing me. So it was super cool to receive a message from Mr. Player."

While such recognition is meaningful, Jarvis knows he cannot rest on his laurels and is intent on kicking on from here, maintaining the high standards he has set of himself.

"The goal is to get a PGA TOUR card at the end of the season after the start I've had," he says, with his next start on the DP World Tour set to come at the Hero Indian Open later this month.

"But more than that, just to play good golf."

On recent evidence, Jarvis has little to fear there but he appears fully focused on making the most of the opportunities ahead through his newfound status as a multiple winner on the DP World Tour.