On the western arm of Grand Cayman, a remote island in the Caribbean Sea that sits about 270 miles south of Havana, Cuba, and 220 miles west of the Jamaican shoreline, the only two golf courses in the Cayman Islands reside across the street from each other.
There is the 18-hole North Sound Golf Club, a well-maintained public layout that stretches to a modest 6,600 yards and includes daunting water hazards throughout the property – including one you purposely hit into during practice. The second course is the nine-hole Ritz-Carlton Golf Club at Grand Cayman, a private resort course where tourists take pictures with a beautiful island green in the background and watch the consistent tropical winds carry more than a few balls into the ubiquitous canals.
Beyond those 27 holes, golf has traditionally been an afterthought within the soccer-crazed British overseas territory of roughly 70,000 residents. There are no Cayman golfers listed in the Official World Golf Ranking, nor has anyone from the country competed in a major championship, so you can forgive natives for their relative lack of enthusiasm.
That will change this week. For the first time, one of their own is driving down Magnolia Lane and putting a tee in the ground at the Masters.
Aaron Jarvis, a 19-year-old freshman at UNLV, captured the Latin America Amateur Championship earlier this year to earn one of the most coveted tee times in the game. He picked a great year to win; Jarvis is also exempt into the Open Championship at St. Andrews.
He came into that LAAC as the No. 1,669 amateur in the world, and even with his stunning victory over a field of more established players, Jarvis still remains outside the top 800 of the World Amateur Golf Rankings. He is, one can argue, the most unlikely Masters participant we’ve seen in the modern era, and it is undoubtedly a shining moment for the tournament itself. This type of opportunity is precisely why the Masters has invested so heavily in amateur golf, particularly when it comes to the LAAC and the Asia-Pacific Amateur.
Playing in the Masters always means a lot, but Jarvis being here adds a new dimension. It’s proof the game’s reach continues to expand. It’s validation for golf being a meritocracy where any player from any background can achieve something spectacular.
And more than anything, it’s a moment of pride – for Jarvis himself and the place he calls home.
“I mean, it’s probably one of the biggest, if not the biggest, sporting event that has taken place for Cayman, for someone to go to the Masters,†Jarvis told Global Golf Post. “I think knowing that and, obviously with golf they have been trying to promote it and keep pushing it, but now this is taking a step forward and allowing Cayman golf to get better. It’s going to mean a lot to them and to myself.â€
Given the enormity of the occasion, one would assume Jarvis is riddled with concern over how his game will translate to Augusta National. Of course, the nerves will be there by the time this Thursday rolls around. But if there is one thing you need to know about this young man, it is that Jarvis embodies the cliche “he never meets a stranger.†Within seconds of our initial greeting, Jarvis displayed a smile and relaxed demeanor that had me contemplating whether I had actually met him at some point in the past.
It’s not a unique interaction, apparently. UNLV coach A.J. McInerney, who will serve as Jarvis’ caddie this week, can always sense his player’s arrival to the golf program offices. Jarvis, who comes wearing a soccer jersey nearly every day, leaves no doubt as to who is walking through the door.
“You just know when he walks in,†McInerney said. “Everyone is saying hi to him, and he’s just yelling. He definitely makes his presence known in a good way. He’s just one of those guys that when you're around him, he's fun to be around. And it's quite the infectious personality.
“He probably sleeps really well, because he exhausts all of his energy throughout the day. A lot of people like him. He makes friends really easily. And he's not afraid to talk and let us know what he has to say.â€
McInerney isn’t kidding. In a recent three-day reconnaissance at Augusta, Jarvis got in 99 holes of golf across the undulating property, necessitating a three-hour recovery session with his trainer.
“My legs, my calves … everything was dead,†Jarvis said with a laugh. “They were burning. I’m like, ‘I can’t believe it.’â€
Somehow, Jarvis had time to fit in conversations with Brooks Koepka and Peyton Manning during that trip. Both of them talked to Jarvis in detail about handling pressure – there are far worse options for advice on such a topic.
“He made eight birdies in a row in a Florida mini-tour event and I was like, ‘Yeah, this guy has got some game.’â€
A.J. McInerney
The root of Jarvis’ positive and energetic personality can be traced back to the culture of Cayman and the influence of his family. Jarvis started playing golf at 11 years old when he watched his brother, Andrew, 3 1/2 years his senior, compete in the Caribbean Junior Golf Championship. Practice came almost exclusively at North Sound Golf Club with little time being spent on the facility’s water range. Local competition was extremely limited, and competing in tournaments mostly meant flying to Florida. One of the only flight routes out of the island is to the junior golf hub of Miami, so that made it an easy decision, although figuring out expenses made building a competitive schedule more than difficult.
Jarvis did have a running mate, however. Justin Hastings, a close friend and fellow Caymanian, is now attending San Diego State after following a similar path to Jarvis. There is also a third Division I golfer from the islands on the way; Holly McLean is set to join the Oklahoma Sooners women’s golf team in the fall of 2023.
Hastings says that Cayman, while still limited when it comes to golf, is now seeing an influx of younger players. He remembers back when he was 9 years old, prior to Jarvis picking up the game, there were only seven players trying out for the Caymanian junior national team. Hastings shot 92 and won the qualifier by seven shots.
The influence of Jarvis, Hastings and McLean has started to shape a competitive program.
“Golf in Cayman is a whole lot of not much,†Hastings said. “Other than the weather, it’s not a very idealistic golf setting to be a golfer, but Aaron and I had each other there to make it work. … So it's just so cool to see so many junior golfers around that age that are taking up the game now. It’s just cool to think that we had an impact on that.â€
The reality of being a serious junior golfer in Cayman is that your best development probably isn’t going to come while on the main island. For instance, McLean is currently in the Bahamas at a boarding school where she has better access to golf facilities.
When it became obvious that Jarvis had talent, he moved to Florida for his junior year of high school and began training at the David Leadbetter Golf Academy while attending Windermere Preparatory School.
Meanwhile, McInerney found himself in a unique position that ultimately led Jarvis to Las Vegas for college.
McInerney had graduated from UNLV in 2016 and went on to make 33 starts between the PGA Tour, Korn Ferry Tour and Mackenzie Tour. Coincidentally, he registered a top-10 finish in the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open just down the road from where he went to school. Ultimately, he went back to his alma mater and is now the interim coach in place of legendary UNLV coach Dwaine Knight.
Having started in April of 2020, McInerney had to figure out a way to recruit during what was declared a dead period. Without being able to see players compete in person, McInerney’s first stop was asking UNLV alumni if there were any kids they knew who could be interested in playing for the Rebels. Andy Leadbetter, who was coaching Jarvis in Windermere, had played for Knight.
Quickly, Jarvis decided it would be a good fit. He was the first player to commit under McInerney.
“He made eight birdies in a row in a Florida mini-tour event and I was like, ‘Yeah, this guy has got some game,’†McInerney said. “He’s an island guy. He has an easygoing personality and he’s the kind of guy that I needed to come to UNLV to help turn things around.â€
Jarvis has yet to register a top-50 result in five college starts, but the experience he gains this week will be invaluable to his progress. Regardless, the experience will be something to remember forever. Monday night, he’ll stay in the Crow’s Nest. Wednesday, his brother will be on the bag for the Par 3 Contest. His goal for the tournament is to reach the weekend, and wouldn’t that be a St. Peter's-reaches-the-Elite-Eight kind of moment if it were to happen?
He’ll be smiling no matter what. So will every Caymanian ditching the beach in favor of every ounce of Masters coverage they can find.
“I want to show the world that you can come from a small place and still do big things,†Jarvis said.
By making it to Augusta, he already has.
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