Nailbiting Finish: WP alum Aaron Jarvis wins Latin America Amateur Championship

Aaron Jarvis waited anxiously as the final trio of golfers came up onto the green on the 18th hole at Casa de Campo’s Teeth of the Dog course in La Romana, Dominican Republic. He had just taken the lead at seven under par after hitting a birdie on the final hole — and this was after trailing for much of the Latin America Amateur Championship tournament. 

Then came the hardest part. He had done his part to position himself well for the victory, but now it was out of his hands. 

“It was the most nerve-wracking I had ever been in my life,” said Jarvis, a Windermere Prep alum and freshman at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. “I went to go do my scorecard interviews and then I heard … all the chaos around the green; the cameras were there on me. It was a cool experience.” 

The other two golfers in the group, including former leader Fred Biondi of Brazil, came up. Biondi missed the birdie that would have tied him with Jarvis, leaving Argentina’s Vicente Marzilio with a chance to win. 

With a bounce that was almost sheer luck, Marzilio’s shot onto the green hopped off a sprinkler head, giving him a chance to set up for an eagle shot that would force a playoff between him and Jarvis. The shot came up short, giving Jarvis the victory. 

“My heart was beating on that last putt when he missed it,” Jarvis said. “I learned a lot with how to deal with the nerves, but it was an incredible experience.” 

That shot was the culmination of a weekend’s work. Jarvis started the tournament in the middle of the pack at two under, but he felt his play was strong enough to put him in a position to be there by the end of the tournament.

“I told myself, ‘Just be patient,’ throughout the whole week because it’s a long four days of golf,” he said. “Anything could happen.” 

That patience paid off as the top of the field fell off on the third day, while he kept getting stronger. On the fourth and final round of competition, Jarvis maintained his strong play, nailing some key birdie putts to put him in position to take the lead on the 18th hole. 

“It feels incredible; it was one that I’ve always dreamt about winning the past few years because the prizes on the line are pretty sweet,” Jarvis said. “Now, just going into the tournament, I told myself to go out and have fun.” 

With the victory in hand, Jarvis, 19, will be able to compete at the Masters tournament in April. That milestone is even bigger when considering he will be the first golfer from the Cayman Islands to compete at Augusta. 

“It’s something I can learn about, meet a bunch of cool people and learn from them, and enjoy the whole experience, but I still want to compete and do well for myself as well,” Jarvis said. “It’s going to be an incredible opportunity, and I’m looking forward to it.” 

Jarvis also will be competing at the Open Championship in July, and he is exempt into the Final Qualifying for the U.S. Open, the British Amateur Championship and U.S. Amateur Championship.

Jarvis, who hales from the Cayman Islands, went to Windermere Prep during the 2020-21 school year and played on the boys golf team. From there, he received an offer to play golf for UNLV, which he accepted.