Jaeger eagles final hole for 1-shot lead at Farmers Open
SAN DIEGO — Stephan Jaeger of Germany made a 35foot eagle putt on his final hole for an 8-under 64 and a oneshot lead over Nicolai Hojgaard of Denmark after the second round of the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines on Thursday.
Jaeger was at 12 under halfway through the tournament on the blufftop layout overlooking the Pacific Ocean. He started on the back nine of the easier North Course and leapfrogged Hojgaard with his eagle on the par-5 ninth to sit atop a crowded leaderboard.
“Finishing like that, yeah, it was exciting,” said Jaeger, who birdied five of his first eight holes and had just one bogey.
He said he hit a good drive into the wind on his closing hole and then tugged his approach shot a bit.
“I wanted it to kind of go middle of the green and I went right at it. It ended up landing just short of the pin and scooting kind of back fringe,” he said. “Had a little downhill right-to-lefter about 35 feet and it ended up curling in. It was awesome to see.”
Jaeger shot a 68 on the South Course on Wednesday. He said his strong finish Thursday doesn’t give him much momentum because the final two rounds are on the South Course.
“But it’s always nice to make eagles and birdies,” said the 32-year-old Jaeger, who has been on tour since 2018 and is still looking for his first win. “Nobody can take those away from you. I’m pumped to play the South Course two more days. I love this place. This is probably one of my favorite tournaments every year.”
Hojgaard shot a bogey-free 66 on the North Course and was at 11 under. Thomas Detry of Belgium and Matthieu Pavon of France were 10 under after playing the South Course. Pavon played a consistent round of 65 with just one bogey while Detry had two bogeys in his final four holes for a 68.
Hojgaard, 22, is getting his first look at Torrey Pines after arriving Monday from Dubai. He shot a 67 on the South Course in the first round. His practice round Tuesday consisted of playing the back nine on the North Course.