HOUSTON — Stephan Jaeger's first PGA Tour victory was beyond his wildest dreams. He competed alongside the world's best player for the final 36 holes and secured the Houston Open championship on Sunday, earning his debut trip to the Masters.
“It feels incredible,” Jaeger expressed.
Scottie Scheffler's winning streak in March came to an end in a challenging manner—a crucial shot that fell 5 feet short on the last hole, and a birdie putt that he thought was successful until he realized it wasn't.
“I played two or three really solid shots into 18, giving myself an opportunity, and I believed I made the putt, but when I looked up, it was curving off,” Scheffler shared. “So, a little disappointing, but Stephan performed excellently this week and he rightfully deserves to be the champion.”
Jaeger finished with nine consecutive pars, just enough to achieve a 3-under 67 and secure his victory on the PGA Tour after 135 attempts.
Jaeger was getting ready for a playoff after narrowly missing a 20-foot birdie putt that would have sealed the win. However, Scheffler, who had three good opportunities towards the end, saw his putt narrowly miss the left edge of the cup.
“I was anticipating him to make it, and I'm not upset at him for missing it,” Jaeger remarked.
Scheffler aimed to be the first player in seven years to win three consecutive starts on the PGA Tour, and he was close. Two shots behind, he had a 20-foot eagle putt on the par-5 16th, settling for birdie. He missed a 12-foot birdie putt on the 17th and stayed in the game when Jaeger missed a 7-foot putt on the reachable par-4 17th.
His final opportunity was from 5 feet.
“It would be different if I had pulled it or something like that,” Scheffler expressed. “I merely misread it. I'm unsure why I misread it; it's part of the game. Perhaps I could have hit it with a bit more speed, I felt like I made a good putt as I intended to, it just didn't go in.”
Jaeger, a 34-year-old German who moved to Tennessee for high school at the age of 16, secured his inaugural trip to the Masters with this victory. He is now eligible for the remaining four $20 million signature events of this season.
Alejandro Tosti had the opportunity to become the fourth PGA Tour rookie to win early in the year. He was tied for the lead until he chipped too strongly on the 18th and missed the 18-foot par putt for a 68.
At the beginning, there was a five-way tie for the lead—the largest on tour since 2009—and eight players had at least a share of the lead at some point during the round.
Jaeger was always among the frontrunners, seizing the lead with an 8-foot birdie putt on the par-3 ninth hole at Memorial Park. This marked his final birdie of the day, and no one else could surpass him.
“I was simply attempting to stay focused,” Jaeger said. “Birdies were hard to come by on the back nine. But this golf course poses challenges, especially when you're in the lead. I'm just extremely happy.”
Thomas Detry, David Skinns, and Taylor Moore all made errors in the final stretch.
Scheffler trailed by one shot when he missed the green on the par-3 15th and was unable to save par on an 8-foot putt, falling two shots behind with three holes left. He regained one stroke with a birdie on the 16th, where Jaeger had to lay up and settle for par.
Scheffler and Jaeger both missed good chances to get a birdie on the 17th hole, and Scheffler had one more opportunity on the 18th.
Jaeger finished with a score of 12-under 268 and enters the top 50 in the world ranking for the first time.
Jaeger said, 'I couldn't have imagined a better week.' He added, 'Playing against Scottie in the last couple of days, he has been doing really well, so defeating him a bit this week was incredible. He's a great guy and a great player, so I was just happy to play with him for a couple of days.'
The defending champion, Tony Finau, finished with two consecutive birdies for a score of 66 and tied with Scheffler, Tosti, Detry, and Moore for second place.
This was the final week for players to move into the top 50 and secure a spot at the Masters tournament. However, no one from outside the top 50, such as Mackenzie Hughes and Tom Hoge, performed well enough to earn a spot.
Byeong Hun An is the only player from the top 50 who has been added to the field for the Masters, which now includes Jaeger.
LPGA TOUR
GILBERT, Ariz. — Nelly Korda, the top-ranked player, became the first LPGA Tour competitor in eight years to win three consecutive tournaments. She finished with a 7-under 65 on a wet Sunday, securing a two-shot victory in the Ford Championship.
Korda initially won the Drive On Championship in her hometown of Bradenton, Florida, then skipped all the LPGA's Asian events. She later triumphed in the Fir Hill Seri Pak Championship last week in California in a playoff, reclaiming the top spot in the women’s world ranking.
She began the final round trailing by two shots, but gained the lead by nearly making an exceptional approach shot on the par-4 16th hole. She concluded with a short birdie to achieve a score of 20-under 268, securing her 12th career LPGA title.
Australian newcomer Hira Naveed shot 66 and ended up in second place.
Lexi Thompson, who had not won in nearly five years, was tied for the lead until hitting the water on the 16th and making a bogey. She finished with a score of 68 and tied for third place with four others.
EUROPEAN TOUR
NEW DELHI — Keita Nakajima from Japan opted to concentrate on the European tour rather than a smaller American circuit and his decision paid off on Sunday when he finished with a 1-over 73 to win the Hero Indian Open.
Nakajima started the final round at DLF Golf and Country Club with a two-shot lead and made four birdies in the first eight holes, extending his lead to nine shots. He then shot 40 on the back nine but still won by four, securing his first European tour title with a score of 17-under 271.
Nakajima, who spent 87 weeks as No. 1 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, won for the fourth time in the last 10 months. The other three wins were on the Japan Golf Tour last year, and they helped him win the Order of Merit, which earned him a European tour card and status on the Korn Ferry Tour.
Veer Ahlawat of India (71), Sebastian Soderberg of Sweden (67), and American Johannes Veerman (67) all tied for second place.
PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS
RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. — Retief Goosen hit the water on the par-5 18th hole but managed to save par, ultimately winning The Galleri Classic with a 3-under 69, largely due to the mistakes of Steven Alker.
Goosen and Alker were in a tie for the lead going into the final hole at Mission Hills. Goosen was on the edge of a bunker and hit a 4-iron so thin that it splashed twice in the water surrounding the 18th green on the Dinah Shore Tournament course.
Instead of choosing to lay up, Alker also decided to go for the green. His 5-iron narrowly cleared the pond, but bounced back into the water. He pitched onto the green and missed his par putt.
Goosen took his penalty drop, hit wedge to 8 feet and made the par putt for a one-shot victory that he never expected. It was his third career win on the PGA Tour Champions.
OTHER TOURS
Takumi Kanaya finished with a 6-under 65 and began the Japan Golf Tour season with a win, triumphing by two shots over Tatsunori Shogenji. … Mariajo Uribe of Colombia secured the New South Wales Women’s Open with a 2-under 70 to defeat Bronte Law by one shot on the Ladies European Tour. … Jose de Jesus Rodriguez of Mexico closed with a 1-under 70 for a one-shot victory over Jesus Montenegro in the Totalplay Championship in Mexico on the PGA Tour Americas … Sakura Koiwai came from behind to win the Yamaha Ladies Open Katsuragi with a 5-under 67 to win by one shot over Chisato Iwai and Rio Takeda on the Japan LPGA.
