– Casey Jarvis (-12) has the chance this Sunday to achieve something that only two men like Nick Faldo and Seve Ballesteros have managed in the history of the DP World Tour: win three consecutive weeks. The young South African comes from winning the Magical Kenya Open and the Open de Sudáfrica and tomorrow he will tee off with every chance to win the Joburg Open at the Houghton Golf Club in Johannesburg. Faldo was the first to do it between 8 and 22 May 1983. Years later the genius from Pedreña did it between 22 June and 7 July
– Jarvis is second, just two strokes behind the sole leader Hennie du Plessis (-14). Second place is shared by Alex Fitzpatrick, Dan Bradbury and Brandon Robinson Thompson. Behind them, two strokes further back, are Adrián Otaegui, Nathan Kimsey and Jack Hawksby, an Englishman who reached the tournament through qualifying. In other words, Jarvis’s chance is very real and by no means outlandish. It is, without doubt, an incredible story. Exactly two weeks ago he had never won on the DP World Tour and today he has the chance to match Seve and Faldo in a statistic after winning his national Open, qualifying for the Masters and the Open. If you look in the encyclopedia for people whose lives have been turned 180 degrees in a matter of days, you’ll find a picture of Jarvis
– But of course, as big as Jarvis’s story is, be careful because Du Plessis’s is no less impressive. He was 27 when he played the Jonsson Workwear Open in 2024. He made the cut, but dropped many places on Sunday with a round of 74. It was 1 March. At that time he was coming in strong. He was already being talked about as one of the South African players with the most potential. So much so that Louis Oosthuizen recruited him for some LIV Golf events. Then life took a 180-degree turn. Like Jarvis’s, but the other way round. He injured his right wrist and had to undergo surgery. He didn’t play his next tournament until he was 29. It was at the end of October 2025, 19 months later. By the way, it was on the Sunshine Tour schedule and he won it
– Since then, Du Plessis has played ten tournaments, three on the South African Sunshine Tour and seven on the DP World Tour. His record is spectacular: one win, two runner-up finishes, five top-5s and nine top-25s. While Jarvis was winning, Hennie finished 3rd in Kenya and 2nd in the Open de Sudáfrica. Any lover of numerical sequences would say it’s his turn to win this week. Certainly, it’s also an incredible story. Today he shot 62, making more of the course’s receptive conditions than anyone after so much rain has fallen
– As for the Spaniards, nothing surprising at the Joburg Open. There will be no Spanish victory and they will have to fight for the top 25. Jorge Campillo (-5) and Sebas García (-5) are the best placed, in 39th position. One stroke further back is Ángel Ayora (-4), while at the lower end are Alex del Rey (-1), Ángel Hidalgo (-1) and Iván Cantero (+1). This time the record of past cuts made is more than notable, but it doesn’t seem we’re going to have any extraordinary results. Anything that comes will be an unexpected gift, as this tournament’s history has shown. Campillo and Sebas have carded the best Spanish rounds this Sunday with 67 and 66 strokes
