BEACHWOOD, Ohio – Stephan Jaeger’s rookie season on the PGA Tour ended in disappointment when the Chattanooga resident missed the FedEx Cup playoffs, but the 29-year-old German is making a push in the Web.com Tour Finals to give the top-tier tour another shot in 2018-19.
Jaeger, who played at Baylor School and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, shot a 2-under-par 68 and was one stroke out of the lead entering the final round of the DAP Championship, the second of four Web.com Tour Finals events that will determine 25 PGA Tour cards.
Kramer Hickok also shot a 68 to retain the lead for the third straight day and was at 12-under 198 at Canterbury Golf Club. Hickok is one of the 25 golfers who already have earned a PGA Tour card for next season with his finish on the Web.com Tour’s regular-season earnings list.
Jaeger finished 165th in the FedEx Cup regular-season final standings – only the top 125 advance to the PGA Tour’s playoffs – relegating him to the Web.com Tour Finals, but he is making a charge for his second win this season and fifth overall on the second-tier tour. He won the Knoxville Open in May, playing the event when he didn’t make the field for The Players Championship.
The Web.com Tour Finals features the top 75 golfers from its regular-season money list, as well as Nos. 126-200 in the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup regular-season final standings. Golfers such as Hickok who have already secured their PGA Tour cards for next season are competing against each other for tour priority, with regular-season earnings counting in their totals. The other players are fighting for 25 cards based on series earnings.