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.