Stephan Jaeger follows his tee shot on the par 3 4th hole where that resulted in a birdie.
AUGUSTA, Ga. – The early buzz during Thursday’s opening round of the Masters Tournament centered around the fact that Stephan Jaeger was all alone on top of the leaderboard after 12 holes.
The former Baylor School and University of Tennessee at Chattanooga golfer made the turn at 4-under par, owning a share of the lead with England’s Aaron Rai, who was playing two groups ahead. Many observers may have been surprised to see Jaeger cover his opening nine holes in 32 shots, recording four birdies with no bogeys in only his second Masters appearance.
But Jaeger was not taken aback by his early success. After all, he came here to win the tournament and fully expected to be found among the contenders.
A native of Munich, Germany who arrived in Chattanooga as a 17-year-old student at Baylor and still calls the Scenic City home, Jaeger remained at 4-under after opening his second nine with three consecutive pars. But with trouble always lurking at Augusta National Golf Club, a double-bogey at the par 5 13th led to a five-hole stretch where Jaeger gave back four strokes to close his round at even par 72, tied for 27th place.
When asked how he felt about his early success that put him in the lead, Jaeger was pleased but not surprised.
“I love being in contention. That’s what we play for,” Jaeger said following his solid opening loop that left him seven shots behind Justin Rose, who posted a 7-under par 65.
Jaeger opened with a clutch par-saving five-footer on the first hole after blasting his opening drive into the trees. The 35-year-old then birdied two of his next three holes to quickly move to 2-under.
With only 200-yards remaining into the par 5 2nd following a 352-yard drive, Jaeger moved into red numbers by draining a five-foot birdie putt. After lipping out a second birdie try from 38 feet on the 3rd hole, Jaeger’s tee shot on the par 3 4th settled five feet from the cup which led to his second birdie.
After navigating the next two holes with pars, Jaeger spun back his approach on No. 7 from 122 yards to two feet, making the putt to move to 3-under. He had a chance to do more damage after his second shot on the uphill par 5 8th was nearly pin high right of the green, but he walked away with a par after being unable to connect on his 14-foot birdie try.
Jaeger then closed his opening nine with a final birdie despite his drive on the 9th found the pine straw to the right of the fairway. However, a deft approach to 10-feet led to his fourth birdie over the previous eight holes and a share of the lead at the halfway point.
Three consecutive pars brought Jaeger to the dogleg left 13th alone in the lead after Rai recorded three straight bogeys starting at No. 11. But a pushed drive found the pine straw to the right, forcing a layup shot under tree limbs to leave him with 127 yards to a front pin location. His approach landed pin high, but spun back to find a watery grave in Rae’s Creek.
Jaeger finished the hole with a double-bogey, dropping him back to 2-under.
Another missed fairway on No. 14 forced Jaeger to shape a knockdown shot that left him staring down a 70-foot birdie try. He was unable to get home in two, resulting in a bogey and ending his streak of 339 consecutive holes without a three-putt.
Clutch mid-range putts saved pars on 15 and 16 before an errant drive on the 17th led to another bogey and back to even par after he was forced to lay up short of the green. A final birdie try on the 18th burned the edge of the cup from 14 feet following a perfect drive, tapping in for par.
Jaeger displayed a stellar day with his iron play, finding 78% (14-of-18) of the greens in regulation, well above the field average of 63%. But his accuracy from the tee, where he hit only 7-of-14 fairways, was his nemesis in relation to the average of a 72% success rate among the 95 participants.
Despite his rollercoaster round, Jaeger was unfazed by his path taken in finishing with a 72.
“All 72s are the same. They each have 72 strokes no matter how you get there,” Jaeger said. “Today taught me that we can play with the best and I’ve just got to be a little better on the back nine tomorrow (Friday).”
Don’t be surprised to find Jaeger in the thick of things before this 89th Masters crowns a champion on Sunday. His disciplined approach and stoic demeanor demonstrate a steely resolve that remain unflappable in the face of pressure. The key will be his success in finding more fairways from the tee, enabling him to capitalize on his stellar iron play and consistent performance with the putter.
Jaeger wasn’t the only Baylor alum to turn in an impressive showing on Thursday. Former Red Raider Harris English birdied No. 18 to close his day at 2-under 70, good for a tie for 7th.
As one of seven former Georgia Bulldogs in the field, English added birdies on 2, 8 and 13 that were offset with bogeys on 5 and 14. Having made the cut in all but one of his five previous Masters appearances, English’s 70 on Thursday equaled his personal best previously accomplished in the final round of the 2021 tournament. His first round of 71 in 2023 was his prior personal opening score.
Three behind Rose after completing their first round in 4-under 68 are defending champion Scottie Scheffler, Corey Conners and Ludvig Åberg. LIV Tour members Tyrell Hatton and Bryson DeChambeau are deadlocked at 3-under 69, while English is joined at 2-under by Rai, Jason Day and Akshay Bhatia.
With breezy conditions predicted for Friday afternoon, Jaeger goes off at 12:22 for his second round, one group after English, who tees off at 12:11.
Paul Payne can be emailed at paulpayne6249@gmail.com
Stephan Jaeger drains a birdie putt on No. 9 to finish his opening nine at 4-under par on Thursday.