Stephan Jäger shoots an impressive 65 to sit in the top 5 at the PGA Tour’s Farmers Insurance Open. Brooks Koepka struggles in his comeback round.
Stephan Jäger had an excellent start on Thursday at the Farmers Insurance Open on the PGA Tour. With a round of 65, he tied for 5th and is close to the lead. Other German players had a tougher time. Thomas Rosenmüller shot 2 under par to sit tied 55th, ahead of Jeremy Paul, who is even par and tied 87th, and Matti Schmid, who shot 1 over par and is tied 101st going into the second round. Alongside Matti Schmid is LIV Golf returnee Brooks Koepka, who faced difficulties in his first tournament back on the American tour. Leading after the first day is Justin Rose at 10 under par.
PGA Tour: Stephan Jäger Nearly Flawless
Stephan Jäger had his best start in some time at the Farmers Insurance Open on the PGA Tour. On the North Course of Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego, he played an almost flawless round, with only the start not going as planned. On the first hole, his second shot landed in the greenside bunker, and he failed to get up and down, beginning his day with a bogey. However, Jäger was unshaken. On hole 3, he recovered by hitting a strong tee shot on the 150-meter par 3 close to the hole and made birdie. A great stretch on holes 7 to 9 saw him score three consecutive birdies, bringing him to 3 under par after the front nine. The highlight was his birdie on the 8th hole, where despite his tee shot landing in a bunker, he holed an excellent sand shot. Jäger carried this momentum into the back nine, starting with two birdies and adding two more birdies on holes 16 and 17, finishing his round at 7 under par and in 5th place for the week.
Thomas Rosenmüller had a quieter round, also starting with a bogey, but a birdie on hole 9 brought him to even par on the front nine. He added birdies on holes 11 and 17 to card a 70 and sit tied 55th.
Jeremy Paul began his round on the back nine but struggled on the front nine with three bogeys after three birdies and one bogey initially suggested a good round. He ultimately finished even par and tied 87th.
Matti Schmid also started on the back nine. Despite three birdies on holes 10, 13, and 3, inconsistent putting led to four