Former Baylor, UTC star wins Korn Ferry event
Stephan Jaeger knows what it’s like to compete on the PGA Tour. He wants to get back there one day and win on golf’s biggest stage.
Until then, the Chattanooga resident is trying to play at his highest level on a lower level — and Sunday it all went according to plan for the former Baylor School and University of Tennessee at Chattanooga standout.
Jaeger won the Albertsons Boise Open, closing the Korn Ferry Tour event with a 3-under-par 68 to finish at 22-under 262 and win by two strokes over Dan McCarthy (64) and Brandon Wu (68) at Hillcrest County Club.
The victory in Idaho was Jaeger’s fifth on the
Korn Ferry Tour, moving him into a tie for sixth alltime on the PGA Tour’s developmental circuit. Jaeger, 31, was born in Munich, Germany, but came to Baylor as an exchange student in high school and played for the
Red Raiders before joining the Mocs.
“My goal every time I play is to win the golf tournament,” Jaeger said in a story by PGATour.com’s Preston Smith that noted Jaeger’s wife Shelby was able to watch his win in person. “It’s been a little bit of a drought, and obviously I was on (the PGA Tour) last year, and I want to win one of those (tournaments), but I’m on the Korn Ferry Tour this year, so I’m going to try and win as many as I can by next August.”
Added Jaeger: “I’ve got to play well on this tour to accomplish what I want to do, which is to get back on (the PGA Tour).”
Jaeger competed regularly on the PGA Tour the past two seasons, giving Baylor four graduates on golf’s top circuit with Harris English, Luke List and Keith Mitchell. Those three remain PGA competitors, though List did win on the Korn Ferry Tour in June when professional golf returned to action after a three-month shutdown amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Sunday’s win was Jaeger’s first since the Knoxville Open in May 2018. He also won the Ellie Mae Classic in July 2016 — opening with a 58 and finishing the tournament at 30-under 250, with all three numbers tour records — the BMW Charity Open in May 2017 and the Rust-Oleum Championship two months later.
English, List and Mitchell are set to compete in the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup
playoffs that start Thursday at the Northern Trust at TPC Boston. The 2019-20 regular season closed with the Wyndham Championship on Sunday, and English finished with a 1-under 69 to tie for 23rd place at 12-under 268, while List (75) shared 66th at 4 under. Mitchell missed the cut Friday, but at 105th in the FedEx Cup points, he is one of the 125 in the playoffs, with English 27th and List 116th.
Trump training
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Jim Herman has a plan to keep his PGA Tour career thriving: Play more rounds with Donald Trump.
It seems whenever Herman plays golf with the president, soon after he hoists a trophy. It happened in 2016 with his breakthrough victory at the Houston Open, again before he won the Barbasol tournament last year and now before Herman’s improbable rally Sunday at the Wyndham Championship.
“He’s been a big supporter of mine,” Herman said about Trump, his regular golf partner while working as an assistant professional at Trump National Bedminster in New Jersey. “I need to play golf with him a little bit more.”
Herman gave the president plenty to cheer about over the weekend, a victory even the 42-year-old didn’t see coming.
“This was out of the blue. I’ll tell you that,” said Herman, who closed with a 7-under 63 and finished at 21-under 259 for a one-stroke victory, overcoming a four-stroke deficit in the final round at Sedgefield Country Club.
On the penultimate hole, Herman made a birdie to move past Billy Horschel, who was the runner-up after a 65. He had a final chance to tie on the last hole, but the putt slid left of the cup on an eight-foot birdie try.
Herman’s win put him in the FedEx Cup playoffs as he jumped from 192nd to 54th in the standings.
South Korea’s Si Woo Kim (70), the third-round leader, tied for third at 18 under with Kevin Kisner (64), Doc Redman (68) and Webb Simpson (65).
Ace sets the pace
AKRON, Ohio — Jerry Kelly seized control at the Bridgestone Senior Players Championship with a holein-one on the 12th hole of the final round at Firestone Country Club, sending him to a 1-under 69 and a two-shot victory at 3-under 277 for his first major title on the PGA Tour Champions.
Kelly was clinging to a onestroke lead over Scott Parel when he hit a soft cut with a 5-iron that landed in front of the hole and rolled in for an ace, eliciting a shout from one volunteer around the green.
From there, Kelly was on his way. His only big mistake came on the 18th — a double bogey when he could afford it. Parel hit a tree from his approach in the fairway on the same hole and made a bogey to finish with a 70.
Parel had the 54-hole lead at Firestone last year and failed to hold it. His runner-up finish was enough to move him to the top of the season-long Charles Schwab Cup standings for the 50-and-older tour.
Kelly, who won $450,000, and Parel were the only players to finish under par on the challenging South Course. Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez (69) and Scotland’s Colin Montgomerie (71) shared third at par.
Horsfield again
NEWPORT, Wales — Sam Horsfield captured his second European Tour title in three weeks, completing a bogeyfree round of 4-under 67 in fading light to finish the Celtic Classic at 18-under 266 for a two-stroke win.
It was an evening finish at Celtic Manor because of a late start to the final round to accommodate TV coverage and as a result of a mid-round stoppage of two hours because of the threat of lightning.
Horsfield, who began the day a stroke behind thirdround leader Connor Syme, took the lead he never relinquished by making a birdie on the third hole. The 24-year-old Englishman had four birdies in the final round to stay ahead of Belgium’s Thomas Detry, who matched Horsfield’s Sunday score but couldn’t catch up.
Two weeks ago at the Hero Open, Detry also finished in second, a shot behind Horsfield, who did not have a professional win to his name before the six-week U.K. Swing.
Play off perfection
NORTH BERWICK, Scotland — Stacy Lewis won the Ladies Scottish Open with a 23-foot birdie putt on the first hole of a playoff, giving the 35-year-old American her first title in nearly three years and a confidence boost ahead of the Women’s British Open.
She took a swig of champagne beside the 18th green at the Renaissance Club after fending off fellow American Cheyenne Knight, Spain’s Azahara Munoz and Denmark’s Emily Kristine Pedersen for her 13th LPGA Tour victory — and first since giving birth to daughter Chesnee in October 2018.
Lewis closed with a 1-over 72 to match Knight (70), Munoz (73) and Pedersen (68) at 5-under 279 after 72 holes. The Texan won for the first time since the 2017 Cambia Portland Classic and won for the first time in a playoff after dropping her previous three.
U.S. golfer Danielle Kang, coming off consecutive victories in Ohio in the LPGA Tour’s return, closed with a 69 to miss the playoff by a stroke, as did Denmark’s Nanna Koerstz Madsen (65).