Chattanooga's Stephan Jaeger is in contention for a medal competing for Germany at the Paris Olympics
photo by Ben Jared/PGA TOUR/IGF
Stephan Jaeger tried to downplay his expectations following his spectacular showing during Friday’s second round of the Olympic Golf Competition.
After shooting a 7-under par 64 to move up 34 spots into a tie for eighth, the Chattanooga resident who is playing under the banner of his homeland Germany was asked about his outlook for the remaining two days.
“Yeah, I don't expect much,” Jaeger said in the post-round press conference. “My expectations are to kind of do the same thing and, you know, expectations in golf are tough sometimes. So, I'm going to do my best and see what happens for the weekend.”
Although his hometown of Munich is 500 miles away, Jaeger certainly found a level of comfort at Le Golf National outside of Paris. Maybe it’s being back on European soil where he first learned the game before venturing to Chattanooga as a 17-year-old to further hone his talents at The Baylor School.
Or possibly it’s because he’s able to focus purely on his golf without juggling the duties of being father to 20-month-old son, Fritz.
“It’s just me and my wife (Shelby) here,” Jaeger said via text message. “No kid with us so we’re making a trip out of it.”
Regardless of the reason, Jaeger’s two-day total of 7-under 135 places him four shots off the lead at the halfway point in pursuit of a gold medal for Germany. Tommy Fleetwood, Xander Schauffele and Hideki Matsuyama are atop the leaderboard at 11-under 131.
Jaeger’s flawless round featured five birdies and an eagle at the par-5 3rd hole. His clean scorecard was devoid of bogeys, and he was 5-under through seven holes on his way to a 31 on his opening nine. Birdies at 14 and 16 capped his round that was one behind Thomas Detry’s 8-under for the day’s best performance.
“I think I gave myself a lot of chances,” said Jaeger, 34, who has made Chattanooga his home after a stellar career at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. “I can't think of how many greens I actually hit but it must have been quite a few because I felt like I never really chipped. So, I had a chance to make birdie on every hole, even if it's a longer putt. You can have a lot of opportunities to make birdies but I capitalized on a few of them for sure.”
Jaeger’s early eagle provided a jolt of confidence that carried throughout his round.
“I was in between a 4-iron and a little fairway wood and we decided for a longer club,” Jaeger said. “It came in nice and high and I had about maybe 25 feet for eagle and rolled it in on the left side. It was really nice after the birdie on 2. It kick-started my round and made things a lot easier on the back nine for sure.”
After claiming his first PGA Tour win earlier this year at the Texas Children’s Houston Open by one shot over world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, Jaeger takes great pride in being part of the Olympic experience.
“It’s always a privilege repping your country,” Jaeger said. “The Olympics have a different feel for sure because you’re playing for three spots. I feel like it’s a little more liberating. It's great to kind of put yourself into contention going into the weekend and have a chance to get a medal. That's what we're here for.”
The host course was site of the 2018 Ryder Cup, where the penal rough and chilly, blustery conditions presented a stiff challenge. But three-quarters of the 60-player field are even par or better in the tamer setup for the Olympics.
Jaeger is scheduled to begin his third round at 6:17 EDT Saturday morning, where he is paired with Tom Kim of the Republic of Korea and Italy’s Guido Migliozzi.
Paul Payne can be emailed at paulpayne6249@gmail.com