Casey Jarvis made a closing birdie at Kingsbarns Golf Links on Friday to move into the outright lead of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
Related: Michael Stewart, Jack Buchanan share links lead
The South African finished in style, his gain at the last one of seven he mixed with two bogeys to sign for a 67 and move to 11 under par, one clear of compatriot MJ Daffue, Spain’s Rocco Repetto Taylor and Englishman Matt Jordan.
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Jarvis, having opened his round on the tenth, dropped a shot at the 11th before producing a stellar stretch of six birdies across the next seven holes to power up the leaderboard.
The 23-year-old, who has twice enjoyed success on the 2026 Race to Dubai, made a second bogey at the par five third, his birdie at the last ending a run of five straight pars to edge one shot clear after 36 holes of the unique tournament staged across three links courses.
Fellow South African Daffue overcame an opening-hole bogey at St Andrews to sign for a 68, his round featuring two birdies on the front and a further three on the back.
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The 37-year-old, making his third Alfred Dunhill Links Championship appearance, combined with amateur Paul Harris to reach 21 under par in the team event, level at the summit with Daniel Hillier and partner Craig Heatley.
Repetto Taylor, playing at Kingsbarns, fired an eight under par 64, the round of seven birdies, an eagle and a bogey the best of the day. It also marked the Spaniard’s equal lowest of the year to date, in what is his first season since graduating from the HotelPlanner Tour.
England’s Jordan came out on top at Carnoustie, following up yesterday’s 69 on The Old Course with a seven under 65. The 30-year-old, making an eighth appearance at the Dunhill, showed off his links prowess with six birdies and an eagle, a closing bogey at the par four ninth his only blemish.
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Fellow Englishman Sam Bairstow sits a further shot back alongside Spain’s Ivan Cantero, Dane Niklas Nørgaard and Ollie Schniederjans from the United States, while defending champion Robert MacIntyre leads a group at eight under par.
Player quotes
Casey Jarvis: The wind was not what I expected it to be today. I thought it would be windier. The front nine played pretty gettable. Yeah, I made a few good birdies out there. Especially the good birdie on 18, hit two nice approach shots and yeah, capitalised with holing a few putts. I let a few lip on the front nine and didn’t make as many as I would have liked to. So to finish off with a birdie is always nice going into tomorrow.
I played really nicely. I felt the whole day, I hit the ball really solid. My approach play was really good, and luckily rolled in a few putts on the front nine, which is the back nine. And yeah, I just felt really in control of my game out there.
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Yes, it’s always nice playing (this format). I play with the same partner every year. He’s so nice. I definitely feel a bit more relaxed. I think it’s nice once in a while to have amateurs playing with us, and it’s definitely a lot more relaxing.
It’s nice to have the Old Course for two rounds in a row now. You watch The Open growing up as a kid, and now to be in contention in a tournament like this, yeah, I’m just looking forward to it, and I can’t wait to get out there over the weekend.
