Stephan Jaeger's return to the PGA Tour will have to wait at least a little longer.
The 31-year-old Chattanooga resident, seeking his third victory this season on the Korn Ferry Tour and the immediate PGA Tour eligibility that accompanies such success, finished second Sunday in the Visit Knoxville Open after leading by a stroke through 36 holes and by three entering the final round.
Jaeger, who was born in Germany before becoming a golf star at Baylor School and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, closed with a par round of 70 at Holston Hills Country Club after starting 64-62-65. His 19-under 261 total was outdone by a shot by former University of Georgia player Greyson Sigg, a 26-year-old Augusta native who set the course record with a 61 on Thursday and closed with a 66 to earn his first victory on the developmental tour.
Sigg moved into second place in the Korn Ferry Tour points standings behind Jaeger, who is set to return to the PGA Tour - he previously played on it from 2017 to 2019 - for the 2021-22 schedule that starts this fall, if not sooner.
"When Jaeger gets out there in the hunt, he's hard to beat, so I knew I had to go out today and shoot at least 4 or 5 under and luckily for me, I did," Sigg said at PGATour.com. "I've been close, and it just speaks volumes to how hard this tour is and how good these guys are. I've been close, and finally today I was able to (win)."
Jaeger and Sigg played a final round akin to match play. The big shot for Sigg was a birdie on the par-4 16th. The big setback for Jaeger was a bogey - just his third of the tournament - on the par-4 17th, where he missed a three-foot par putt and lost the lead for the first time all day, according to PGATour.com's tournament wrapup. Each closed by making par, with Jaeger missing a six-footer that would have forced a playoff.
Seth Reeves, an Atlanta native who played at Georgia Tech, finished third at 17 under - and the fact he needed to match Sigg's course-record 61 just to make a run at getting close to the top two finishers showed how much they stood apart Sunday.
Jaeger finished in the top three for the fifth time this season. His bid to become the 12th player to earn a three-win promotion to the PGA Tour will continue.
Win worth the wait
McKINNEY, Texas - K.H. Lee was more than happy to play through a steady downpour in the final round of the AT&T Byron Nelson, and he didn't mind waiting out a weather delay of more than two hours at TPC Craig Ranch, either.
The reward was the final spot in the PGA Championship that starts Thursday.
Lee earned his first PGA Tour victory and the chance to compete on the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island in South Carolina, becoming the second consecutive Nelson winner from South Korea as he closed with a 6-under 66 and finished at 25-under 263, three ahead of third-round leader Sam Burns (70).
Heavy rain fell during most of the back nine for the leaders, with workers using squeegees to clear paths on greens and one ball stuck in the middle of a fast-moving stream on the 18th fairway. The players slogged through the deluge before lightning forced a delay.
Most of the standing water was gone when play resumed 2 hours, 23 minutes later. Lee missed a par putt on 16 to cut his lead to two, then answered with two birdies. The sun came out as Lee was finishing his round, and he was greeted just off the 18th green by countryman K.J. Choi, an eight-time PGA Tour winner who lives in the Dallas area
"Long day for me, I think everybody but I just (tried to) keep patient and positive thinking," Lee said.
Sung Kang won the tournament in 2019, and it was canceled last year due to the pandemic.
Burns was coming off his first PGA Tour victory earlier this month at the Valspar Championship. He finished a shot ahead of a third-place pack: Daniel Berger (64), Patton Kizzire (63), Scott Stallings (66) and 2011 Masters champion Charl Schwartzel of South Africa, who closed with a 68. Joseph Bramlett (68) and Troy Merritt (65) shared seventh at 19 under.
Harris English (70) tied for 13th at 17 under for the best finish of three Baylor School graduates in the field. Keith Mitchell (66) tied for 26th at 14 under, and Luke List (70) shared 61st at 9 under.
Pride of Alabama
DULUTH, Ga. - Monday qualifier Dicky Pride won the Mitsubishi Electric Classic for his first PGA Tour Champions title, closing with a 5-under 67 for a three-stroke victory at TPC Sugarloaf.
Making his 11th start on the senior circuit, the 51-year-old Pride had six birdies in an 11-hole stretch before dropping a stroke on the par-4 15th. He parred the final three to win in the Atlanta area a week after contending but falling short in the Regions Tradition - the tour's first major of the year - in Alabama.
"I am just thrilled. I am so excited," said Pride, who finished at 11-under 205 in the 54-hole event. "Last week was really disappointing with a horrible final round in Birmingham, my home state. I really put a lot of pressure on myself to play well and really didn't. So I came this week, was able to qualify and played really flawless over there. Then to put three rounds together."
Pride is the 14th open qualifier to win on the tour and the 18th player to win at least once on the PGA Tour and its senior and developmental tours. He won the 1994 St. Jude Classic as a rookie for his lone PGA Tour title and won on the developmental tour in 2015.
Stephen Ames and Kirk Triplett each shot a 70 to share runner-up honors with second-round leader Paul Goydos (72).
Atlanta Braves great John Smoltz shot 84-77-82 to place 76th at 27 over, beating fellow former MLB pitcher Shigetoshi Hasegawa by three strokes to avoid finishing last.