Chattanooga's Stephan Jaeger watches his approach to No. 8 at Friday's second round of the Masters.
AUGUSTA, Ga. – Stephan Jaeger found himself at a critical crossroads as he neared the conclusion of his opening nine holes in Friday’s second round of the 89th Masters Tournament.
After covering the front side in 4-under in Thursday’s opening round, Jaeger was having difficulty replicating that same magic on a breezy afternoon. He struggled finding consistency off the tee, missing the fairway on his first six drives that led to a pair of bogeys and several scrambling pars to stand at 2-over for the tournament.
But Jaeger rediscovered his mojo on the 8th hole that would propel him the rest of the round until a hiccup on the final hole. After his drive on the uphill par-5 found the cavernous fairway bunker, Jaeger was finally able to flip his fortunes. He nailed his approach from 107 yards to seven feet, then rolled in his first birdie of the day to turn the momentum in his favor.
Energized by the birdie, Jaeger completed ten holes in a combined 2-under to return to even par heading to the final hole. However, his only misguided drive over the final nine coupled with a three-putt resulted in a double-bogey, leaving the former Baylor School and University of Tennessee at Chattanooga golfer at 2-over following his round of 74, right on the number to continue playing the weekend.
The other Baylor alum in the field, Harris English, also made the cut despite leaking oil down the stretch. English posted a 73 on Friday to complete his first two rounds at 1-under, but a pair of bogeys over his last three holes put a damper on his finish as he qualified for the weekend for the fifth time in six Masters appearances.
The highlight of Jaeger’s round occurred at the difficult par-4 11th hole. After splitting the fairway with a 316-yard drive, his approach was flared to the right of the green leaving him with a ticklish shot from 37 yards and a pond lurking to collect any misses long. But Jaeger hit a perfect pitch shot onto the green, then watched the ball disappear into the hole for an unlikely birdie.
Jaeger atoned for Thursday’s double-bogey at No. 13 by making a par, then striped a perfect approach on No. 14 to set up an eight-foot birdie to pull back to even.
Three straight pars – starting with a clutch 10-footer on the 13th – brought Jaeger to 18 in a tie for 28th hoping to nudge his way into red numbers. But his tee shot nestled under a magnolia tree, forcing a pitch out that left him 92 yards from the pin. His approach left him with a 21-foot par attempt that ran four feet past the hole, and he missed the comebacker resulting in a disappointing finish.
Despite the misfortune on the last hole, Jaeger was able to right the ship over the course of his day following a shaky start.
Jaeger’s errant opening shot on the first hole set the early tone for his day, walking off the green with a bogey after he was unable to convert a 10-footer for par. Another bogey at the par-3 4th – a hole he birdied on Thursday – resulted from dumping his tee shot in the greenside bunker and then misfiring on a par attempt from ten feet.
The German native scrambled from the trees after wayward tee balls on 5 and 7, avoiding further damage to his scorecard until he finally turned things around starting at No. 8.
Jaeger finished his second round hitting 11 of 18 greens in regulation, and he regained his form from the tee by hitting six of his final eight fairway attempts.
In making the cut for the first time in his second Masters showing, Jaeger tees off at 10:10 a.m. Saturday alongside Max Greyserman.
Entering the day at 2-under, English gave up a stroke with two bogeys and a lone birdie through his first seven holes. But three straight birdies starting at No. 8 moved him to 4-under for the tournament.
English surrendered a shot at the par-3 12th, then strung together pars on his next four holes to remain at 3-under with three holes remaining. However, a bogey at 16 followed by another at 18 left him in a tie for 22nd at 1-under.
The winner at Torrey Pines in San Diego in January, English will start play on Saturday at 12:30 partnered with Australia’s Min Woo Lee.
England’s Justin Rose shot 71 on Friday to retain his spot atop the leaderboard, his total of 8-under one shot better than Bryson DeChambeau, who fired a second-round 68.
Rory McIroy surged among the leaders with a 6-under 66 on Friday highlighted by an eagle at the par-5 13th to join Canada’s Corey Conners at 6-under heading into the third round.
Defending champion Scottie Scheffler, in pursuit of his third green jacket in four years, is among a group of four golfers three shots back at 5-under after bogeying two of his last three holes to close his day with a score of 71.
Joining Scheffler as former Masters champions still alive for the weekend are Hideki Matsuyama (-3), Patrick Reed (-3), Bubba Watson (-1), Charl Schwartzel (+2), Jon Rahm (+2), Zach Johnson (+2), Jordan Spieth (+2) and Danny Willett (+2).
Those to miss the cut included former winners Dustin Johnson, Bernard Langer, Sergio Garcia, Mike Weir, Fred Couples, Adam Scott, Phil Mickelson, Jose Maria Olazabal and Angel Cabrera.
Paul Payne can be emailed at paulpayne6249@gmail.com