Stephan Jäger shines with an excellent 65 to place in the top 5 at the PGA Tour’s Farmers Insurance Open. Brooks Koepka struggles in his return.
Stephan Jäger had an outstanding start on Thursday at the Farmers Insurance Open on the PGA Tour. With a 65, he is tied for 5th place, close to the leaders. Other German players had a tougher day: Thomas Rosenmüller shot 2 under par to tie for 55th, ahead of Jeremy Paul who is even par at T87, and Matti Schmid who played 1 over par and sits at T101 going into the second day. Alongside Matti Schmid is LIV Golf returnee Brooks Koepka, who faced difficulties in his first tournament back on the American Tour. Justin Rose leads after day one with 10 under par.
PGA Tour: Stephan Jäger Nearly Flawless
Stephan Jäger delivered his best start in quite some time at the Farmers Insurance Open on the PGA Tour. On the North Course at Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego, he played an almost flawless round, with only the beginning not going as planned. On the first hole, his second shot landed in the bunker near the green, and he failed to make the up-and-down, resulting in a bogey to start the day. However, Jäger was not discouraged. On hole 3, he bounced back by chipping close to the hole on the 150-meter par 3 and made birdie. A particularly strong stretch came mid-round: on holes 7 through 9, he recorded three consecutive birdies, moving to 3 under par after the front nine. The highlight was his birdie on hole 8, where after hitting into a bunker near the green, he played a remarkable sand shot that rolled directly into the hole. Momentum carried into the back nine with two early birdies and two more late in the round on holes 16 and 17, finishing at 7 under par and securing fifth place for the week.
Thomas Rosenmüller had a steadier round, also starting with a lone bogey but scoring a birdie on hole 9 to reach even par after nine holes. Additional birdies on holes 11 and 17 earned him a 70 and 55th place.
Jeremy Paul began on the back nine but struggled on the front nine with three unanswered bogeys after initial birdies and a bogey, finishing even par at T87.
Matti Schmid also began on the back nine, achieving three birdies but was offset by four bogeys, ending 1 over par and tied for 101st, needing to improve on Friday to make the cut.