Stephan Jaeger
Paul Apyan practices chipping the ball at Black Creek Club golf course in this file photo.Chattanooga based golfers Paul Apyan Jr. and Stephan Jaeger qualified Friday for status on the PGA Tour Latin America.
Jaeger, who prepped at Baylor School and then played for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, tied for 16th in a four-day qualifying tournament in Sebring, Fla., which earned him full status on the 16-tournament tour. Apyan, who played at Hixson High and Southern Miss, tied for 23rd and has the highest conditional status. He should be able to play in at least 14 events.
Both players will be able to set their schedules through May, when the tour takes a break until September, and then attempt to qualify for Web.com Tour events over the summer.
“It’s a steppingstone in the right direction after a pretty disappointing Q-school,” Jaeger said. “It’s a very good plan B.”
The schedule will take Jaeger and Apyan — who speak very little Spanish — to Colombia, Mexico, Guatemala, Argentina, Uruguay, Panama and the Dominican Republic.