Although Stephan Jaeger came up short in winning this past weekend's Knoxville Open, the former Baylor School and University of Tennessee at Chattanooga golfer continues to produce one of the most successful seasons ever assembled on the Korn Ferry Tour.
The finances prove it.
Jaeger's recent runner-up finish resulted in a $54,000 prize, which upped his tour-leading money total to a robust $540,382. His season tally, which is bolstered by wins at the Boise Open last August and the Emerald Coast Classic early last month in Destin, Florida, actually tops his two-year average of $522,703 that he earned during the 2018 and 2019 seasons on the PGA Tour.
Only five Korn Ferry golfers have earned more in a season than Jaeger, who is assured of returning to the PGA Tour later this year and could get back immediately with what would be his seventh career Korn Ferry tournament title. Here are those five players:
1. Michael Sim (2009)
Earnings: $644,142
Ever since: Sim had a top-20 finish in the 2009 U.S. Open and tied for second at the 2010 Farmers Insurance Open, but the Australian lost his PGA Tour card after the 2011 season. He has spent the last decade playing sparingly on the PGA Tour of Australia, where he is a two-time winner.
2. Patton Kizzire (2015)
Earnings: $567,866
Ever since: The former Auburn University standout is now a two-time winner on the PGA Tour with nearly $9 million in career earnings. Kizzire finished tied for third this past weekend at the AT&T Byron Nelson Classic.
3. Scottie Scheffler (2019)
Earnings: $565,338
Ever since: Scheffler has yet to win on the PGA Tour but has shown plenty of promise, currently ranking 32nd in the FedEx Cup points standings and having finished runner-up to Billy Horschel in late March at the WGC Dell Technologies Match Play event. He has $5.7 million already in career earnings.
4. Chesson Hadley (2017)
Earnings: $562,475
Ever since: Hadley won the 2013 Korn Ferry title and captured the 2014 Puerto Rico Open at the Trump International course for his lone PGA Tour victory. He slipped back to the Korn Ferry and is making more of his second opportunity at the sport's ultimate level with three top-20 finishes this season. Hadley ranks 149th on the FedEx front and has amassed nearly $8.5 million in his career.
5. Sungjae Im (2018)
Earnings: $553,800
Ever since: Im is knocking on the door of $10 million in career earnings, making him the most profitable of this bunch. The South Korean prevailed at the 2020 Honda Classic - a year after former Baylor School standout Keith Mitchell captured the event and two years after another Baylor alum, Luke List, lost in a playoff to Justin Thomas - and he tied for second in the only Masters ever held in November.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.