Stephan Jaeger Squeezes Past Scottie Scheffler by One Stroke to Capture First PGA Tour Win
The best golfer in the world, Scottie Scheffler, had his hopes of a third consecutive PGA Tour win snatched from him on Sunday by Stephan Jaeger in the Houston Open in a thrilling finish that came down to the final hole. Scheffler, who was coming off consecutive wins in the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players Championship earlier in the month, shot an impressive score of 68 in the final round on Sunday. However, he came up one shot short as he missed a five-foot birdie putt to force a playoff with Jaeger on the last hole. Jaeger shot a final round 67 by registering four birdies on the front nine before tallying nine straight pars on the back nine to hold on for his first-ever win on the PGA Tour.
Scheffler was looking to join yet another distinguished group that includes Dustin Johnson (2017) and Rory McIlroy (2014) as players to accomplish three consecutive wins on the PGA Tour. While the final putt is going to keep Scheffler up at night, he can also attribute his tough defeat to his rollercoaster play earlier in the tournament. He was up and down all week, and that even included an over-par round on Friday for the first time in 28 rounds. Meanwhile, for Jaeger, this is a long-awaited first victory for the German native. He turned pro back in 2012, and he previously won six times on the Korn Ferry Tour. This was his 135th start on the PGA Tour. The defending Houston Open champion, Tony Finau, fell just short of going back-to-back in the event as he tied for second at -11 along with four other players, including Scheffler.
Jaeger hopes this can be a big swing of momentum in his favor as the PGA Tour season begins to heat up, and obviously, competing in a final round against Scheffler and winning is a great way to get some momentum. “You just know he is going to have some good stuff. I just tried to keep up with him myself,” Jaeger said, per the Golf Channel. There is no better time to be playing your best golf as there is only the Texas Open this upcoming weekend before the most prestigious event in all of golf, The Masters Tournament, which will begin on April 11.
