Published 9:20 am Friday, October 9, 2009

Jefferson senior Erik Jarvey isn’t a daunting figure on the golf course.

The TJ senior isn’t going to win any long-drive contests or physically overpower the competition.

Jarvey just goes out and plays the game of golf like it’s supposed to be played. He hits fairways and greens, and doesn’t let outside forces disturb his focus on the golf course.

“I don’t necessarily hit the ball the farthest of anybody,” he said. “I just try and control my game and not make mistakes.”

In short, Jarvey is excelling in the mental aspect of the sport this season for the Raiders — a part of the game that has a way of bringing down a vast majority of the golfers that tee the ball up.

“Golf is mostly a mental game,” Jarvey said. “I always knew I had the ability, but just haven’t taken the next step.”

Jarvey has more than taken that “next step” this season, his last as a high school golfer. The senior is currently under par for the entire season and has earned multiple medalist honors as the Raiders’ top player.

“That is pretty incredible,” said TJ head golf coach Dave Hunter.

“I didn’t really come into the season with a set goal of shooting under par for the season,” Jarvey said. “I knew I could do that, but I really didn’t say to myself that I was going to do it. But it would be pretty cool to tell people.”

Jarvey’s best round came during a Sept. 15 match against the Curtis Vikings at the Meadow Park Golf Course. That day, Jarvey fired a 3-under par round during the nine-hole match.

“The course is fairly short, but you can still get into a lot of trouble,” Jarvey said.

Although this year’s success on the course is the best of his high school career, Jarvey isn’t coming out of nowhere during his senior season. As a junior, Jarvey qualified for the Class 4A State Tournament, but failed to make the cut after firing a first-round 81.

As a sophomore, Jarvey finished in 20th place at state with rounds of 78 and 76 at the Avalon Golf Links in Burlington.

“I have probably just gained confidence this year,” Jarvey said. “I really just started believing that I could play this well.”

A big part of the confidence came during the summer months when Jarvey was playing against some of the best youth golfers on the West Coast.

Jarvey finished in a tie for 11th place at the prestigious American Junior Golf Association Junior at Wenatchee in August by shooting a three-day total of 220 at the Wenatchee Golf and Country Club.

The tournament was won by Macgregor Hoobery from Santa Maria, Calif. Jarvey was the third highest placer from Washington in the tournament and was just one stroke back of the lead after firing an opening-round 68 on the par-72 course.

“I played really good at that tournament,” Jarvey said. “That was kind of a first step into telling me what I can do.”

Jarvey hopes to take another step forward in his golf career later this month when the postseason kicks off.

The Class 4A West Central District Medalist and State Qualifying Tournament will be played Oct. 21-22 at the Gold Mountain Golf Course in Gorst. The field will include players from the South Puget Sound and Narrows leagues. The top-30 finishers from the two-day, 36-hole tournament will advance to state, which will be played in May.

“I would love to have a good showing at district and then do some hard work over the winter and have a good finish at state,” Jarvey said. “I missed the cut last year and I would be kind of upset with that during my senior year.”