Casey Jarvis holes out for eagle and builds a two-shot lead in the Dunhill Links

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland (AP) — Casey Jarvis of South Africa holed out for eagle on his first hole and used the brilliant start to post a 7-under 65 on the Old Course on Saturday, giving him a two-shot lead in the Dunhill Links Championship as he goes for his third European tour title of the year.

Jarvis played bogey-free on a breezy day at the home of golf, and didn't make a birdie putt longer than 6 feet in keeping his distance against the field.

Jarvis was at 18-under 198.

Adrian Meronk of Poland, one of 22 players from LIV Golf in the field, birdied his opening four holes at Kingsbarns and had an eagle late in his round of 63. He was two shots behind with Matthew Jordan of England, who shot a 66 at Kingsbarns.

Thomas Detry of Belgium, another LIV player, was a further shot back after a 65 at St. Andrews.

Jarvis began his round on the 10th hole, and watched his wedge land about 6 feet beyond the hole and spin back into the cup. He followed that with a tee shot over the Strath bunker to 4 feet on the par-3 11th. When he two-putted for birdie on the 14th, he already was 5 under through five holes.

“I know I’m going to be feeling pressure tomorrow,” said Jarvis, who won the Kenya Open and South African Open in consecutive weeks in February. “I have won twice this year. So I kind of know how to deal with it a little better. I still know I’m going to feel first tee nerves and pressure throughout the day.”

Matt Fitzpatrick, coming off a victory last week in France, also got off to a great start with six birdies in his opening seven holes. He was even par the rest of the way — two birdies to go with two bogeys — for a 66 and wound up six shots behind, along with defending champion Robert MacIntyre (68).

Five-time major champion Brooks Koepka shot 70 on the Old Course and was eight back.

The final round is at St. Andrews.

“Every golfer dreams of taking a lead, playing the Old Course on Sunday,” Jarvis said. “I got goosebumps right now just standing here. I just can’t wait for tomorrow. Even if I don’t win, to be taking the lead, I’m just going to enjoy it as much as I can.”

The cut was at 6-under 136. Tyrrell Hatton and Cam Smith, who won the British Open at St. Andrews in 2022, were among 14 players from LIV who missed the cut.

Meronk said he plans to play every week he can on the European tour with hopes of finishing high enough in the Race to Dubai to secure his card for 2027 and keep his options open depending on what happens with LIV.

“I’ve been playing really well the last couple of weeks. Just didn’t get the full results,” Meronk said. “Hopefully, this is the week. But just play my game tomorrow and see what happens at the end.”

See AP’s full golf coverage here

Cameron Smith of Australia tees off the 2nd on day three of the Dunhill Links Golf Championship in St Andrews, Scotland, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026. (Steve Welsh/PA via AP)

Casey Jarvis of South Africa on day three of the Dunhill Links Golf Championship in St Andrews, Scotland, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026. (Steve Welsh/PA via AP)

Brooks Koepka of USA plays from the 1st fairway on day three of the Dunhill Links Golf Championship in St Andrews, Scotland, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026. (Steve Welsh/PA via AP)

Casey Jarvis of South Africa lines up a putt on day three of the Dunhill Links Golf Championship in St Andrews, Scotland, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026. (Steve Welsh/PA via AP)

The head of Tennessee's prison system is resigning, Gov. Bill Lee announced Saturday, the first major shake-up since the stunning failed execution of Christa Pike landed her on a ventilator at a hospital.

Frank Strada, commissioner of the Department of Correction, will step down this month, Lee said.

Strada said in a statement that resigning was “in the best interest of Tennesseans” while an independent review determines what happened Wednesday when the state failed to execute Pike despite administering two doses of a lethal drug.

“I believe this review is entirely appropriate and necessary, and I look forward to doing everything I can to help determine exactly what occurred,” Strada said.

Pike was taken to a hospital, where she was on a ventilator and unconscious in the following hours, her attorneys said in a court filing Friday.

Hospital staff were working to save Pike’s life and, as of late Thursday, were trying to clear the two doses of pentobarbital, which the state uses to execute prisoners, lawyers said.

The shocking failure has left both sides of the death penalty debate demanding answers. Lee has ordered an independent review and halted any new executions. Strada said he believes the state “carried out its responsibilities in accordance with the established protocol.”

Pike's legal team welcomed Strada's departure but said “it does nothing to help Christa now.”

“What happened to her Wednesday reflects a systemic failure that goes far beyond any one person,” the four-lawyer team said. “We hope the governor’s call for a full, independent review will expose the profound problems within Tennessee’s entire death penalty system.”

Pike’s attorneys said they believed problems with the IV lines caused the pentobarbital to flow into her body instead of her bloodstream.

Strada took over the Correction Department in January 2023 after serving as deputy director of the Arizona Department of Corrections. In late 2024, he announced that Tennessee was changing its lethal injection protocol and would use only pentobarbital.

Four people have been executed in Tennessee since 2025, according to the Correction Department.

Pike was 18 when she and her boyfriend tortured and killed a classmate, Colleen Slemmer, in a jealous rage. She later became one of the youngest women to be sent to death row.

FILE - Tennessee Department of Correction Commissioner Frank Strada speaks to the media after the execution of Harold Wayne Nichols, Dec. 11, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, File)