Stephan Jaeger might be the happiest of all 156 golfers this week at the 117th U.S. Open.
The former Baylor School and University of Tennessee Chattanooga standout won his second Web.com Tour event in three weeks Sunday evening, finishing off the Rust-Oleum Championship field in Ivanhoe, Ill., with a fourth consecutive under-par round for a two-stroke victory over Ted Potter Jr.
Jaeger earned $108,000 for the win and vaulted from ninth to first on the tour's money list with $247,860, and it assured the former three-time Southern Conference player of the year a spot on the PGA Tour in 2018.
Jaeger qualified for the U.S. Open last Monday by winning a 36-hole sectional in Ball Ground, Ga., but he isn't taking a carefree and nothing-to-lose approach to this week's event in Erin Hills, Wis.
"I'm going to be nervous as you-know-what," the 28-year-old German said by phone. "I don't care if there is no pressure or not. I am going to be nervous on that first tee, and I'll probably be nervous the whole time, but that can be good. You've got to take it as adrenaline, because this is what we practice to get to.
"It's as high of a stage as we can play, so I will be nervous."
Jaeger will head to the U.S. Open today, where he will join fellow Baylor alum Harris English. A two-time winner on the PGA Tour with more than $11 million in career earnings, English also has some momentum after tying for 10th Sunday at the FedEx St. Jude Classic in Memphis and pocketing $143,200.
Another Baylor alum, Luke List, finished tied for 18th in Memphis but missed out on this year's U.S. Open.
Jaeger played at Erin Hills in the 2011 U.S. Amateur, but he is not expecting a ton of similarities this week as the U.S. Open takes place in the Badger State for the first time. He is scheduled to tee off at 9:46 EDT Thursday morning with amateur Joaquin Niemann of Chile and Joel Stalter of Luxembourg.
"They're obviously not going to have the U.S. Amateur in the shape that they will have it this week," Jaeger said. "It's going to be the U.S. Amateur on steroids. I'm sure the greens will be faster and harder and the fairways will be smaller. The U.S. Open is a grind no matter where you play. The USGA will make it as hard as possible, and you just have to embrace that.
"We have to make a lot of birdies every week on the Web, but making par and having a bogey every once in a while this week will not be that bad. I can remember most of the holes, but the USGA will probably trick this up a little bit and change it, and we'll see. I'm looking forward to it. I'm playing well. My game is good, and I feel like I have a chance to compete."
English will tee off Thursday afternoon at 2:25 with former University of Georgia teammate Russell Henley and amateur Scottie Scheffler.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.
BAYLOR PAYDAY
Four former Baylor School golfers had a better financial weekend than most, thanks to their performances on the PGA Tour and the Web.com Tour. At the PGA Tour’s FedEx St. Jude Classic in Memphis, Harris English finished tied for 10th and earned $143,200, while Luke List finished tied for 18th and earned $86,613. At the Web.com Tour’s Rust-Oleum Championship in Ivanhoe, Ill., Stephan Jaeger won the event and pocketed $108,000, while Keith Mitchell finished tied for 17th and earned $8,400.