Stephan Jäger became world famous with a super record. Eichenrieder plays on the PGA tour and is the second best German golfer in the world rankings.
Eichenried / Chattanooga – It is a record for the history books of golf: 58 strokes on a par 70 round. Jack Nicklaus, Bernhard Langer, Tiger Woods or Rory McIlroy did not succeed in this feat – it was Stephan Jäger from Eichenried who has been teeing off on the American PGA tours since 2012.
Although the record only lasted ten days, then PGA veteran Jim Furyk equalized it, but that didn’t detract from Eichenrieder’s reputation. He is still called “Mister 58” or “Jägermeister”. Jäger still holds another record exclusively: In said super round at the Ellie Mae Classic 2016, he also won a PGA tournament on the Korn Ferry Tour (formerly Web.com Tour) with 30 strokes below the course standard.
But Stephan Jäger is not lifted off because of this extraordinary success. He had to bite through too often for that. And he also describes himself as a “bitch”, which a failure does not overturn so quickly. The now 31-year-old celebrated six victories on the Korn Ferry Tour, twice he made the leap into the PGA Tour, and once he had to go back to the second tier of the golf professionals. But he has never thought of giving up.
Back on the PGA tour
Last weekend it was that time again: With his sixth tour victory at the Emerald Coast Classic, he secured his return to the PGA tour. After a tough fight over four days, he prevailed against David Lipsky in the playoff. He triumphed with a par on the extra hole and made the climb perfect. He had laid the foundation stone beforehand with good results such as second place at the Orange County National Championship. A week later he went to the Dominican Republic, after the first day with a round of 66, he led the field for the first time in a PGA tournament. In the end, he ended up in 48th place.
A golf-loving family: Papa Klaus, sister Michaela, Stephan, son-in-law Jörg (standing, from left) and Mama Sophie with family dog Caro.
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Due to his consistently good performance, Jäger has been allowed to tee off three times at the US Open. He mastered the cut twice, in autumn he was 34th and was the best German competitor ahead of Martin Kaymer and Alex Cejka. Even his idol Tiger Woods had to stand in line.
In June, Jäger, as a newcomer to the PGA, will tee off at the BMW International Open, should it take place in Eichenried despite the corona pandemic – where his career began. To play for victory at home in front of family and old friends would be a great thing for the “Sedl”, as his friends call him.
His new home is Chattanooga
Stephan was born to enjoy playing. His parents are avid golfers and are among the founding members of the GC München-Eichenried. He was also animated by his sister Michaela, who was 13 years older than him, although he was initially more interested in football, street hockey, tennis, ice hockey and skiing. But since the golf course is only half a kilometer from the house, he was turning more and more laps with them. And he showed talent that Eichenried head pro Ken Williams also noticed. The collaboration soon brought success. In the meantime, Jäger had devoted himself entirely to golf – against football, tennis and the other sports. And with increasing success. In addition to various tournament victories and championships, he also became a member of the Bavarian and German youth squads.
Football has always been one of his hobbies.
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And what does an exceptional golf talent who rush from success to success in Germany do? He is looking for a challenge in the USA, the country of the world’s best golfers. Jäger moved to the USA for an exchange year at the Baylor School in Chattanooga / Tennessee, a private boarding school with golf funding. “It was extremely difficult,” recalls Jäger, who was also homesick. But even then, the 17-year-old proved that he can bite through. The friendship with Harris English, who is now also playing on the PGA tour, made life abroad easier for him, and he found more and more pleasure in the American way of live.
After graduating from college and offering offers from Kentucky and Virginia, Jäger decided to stay in Chattanooga and study psychology at the University of Tennessee. But from then on, golf dominated his life. Study in the morning, golf after lunch until the evening hours. The intense training soon paid off, and he won tournaments. Still as an amateur, however.
Professional golfer since 2012
After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, Jäger took the next step and fulfilled his dream in 2012: he became a professional golfer. “Why should I only play amateur tournaments when I can make money with golf”, he asked himself and acted true to the American mentality: Just do it!
Golfer luck: In 2016 he won with 30 strokes below the course standard.
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Eichenrieder soon qualified for the Web.com tour, now the Korn Ferry tour. Good placements and missed cuts alternated. He didn’t make the big money yet, but that was about to change on July 28, 2016, when he played the historic 58th round at the Ellie Mae Classic on the TPC Stonebrae course in San Francisco Bay.
In addition to the substantial prize money, equipment manufacturers also registered, so that Jäger could not only afford a new car, but now also had a good income as a professional golfer. If he missed the leap into the world’s best tournament series, the US PGA Tour, in the same year – he was only 3,000 dollars short of the prize money ranking – he celebrated two tournament wins the following year and rose to the top division.
And now the Olympics beckon
But he had to quickly realize that the level of play here is a lot higher than in the second division. Nevertheless, he was sure that “I can play along. I know I’m good enough. ”He proved that again in 2018 when he again qualified for the PGA Tour through an elimination tournament. A year later he had to earn his bread again on the Korn Ferry tour.
Private happiness: Stephan Jäger with his wife Shelby Garren.
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After a difficult Corona year, he got off to a full start this year. After two more tournament victories, he has now bought the PGA Tour card again with the aim of: “I want to play at the front on the PGA Tour, and also win some majors. I have a real chance. “
With his most recent win in Florida, he moved up to second place. If he succeeds in another success, he is immediately eligible to play for the PGA. He could also catch up with the previous record holder Jason Gore (seven wins). In the world rankings, Jäger advanced from 226th to 158th place, making it the second best German player behind Martin Kaymer. This increases the chances of getting an Olympic ticket for Tokyo. “It would be cool to represent Germany,” said Jäger after his most recent tournament victory. And national golf coach Ulli Eckhardt also gives him hope: “As a tour ticket holder, he is a hot candidate for the Olympics.”
Johann Kalteis
The short profile:
| Born on the | May 30, 1989 in Munich |
| married to | Shelby Garren |
| living in | Chattanooga, Tennessee |
| Hobbies | Football (fan of FC Bayern), tennis, fishing and cars |
| Education | from 2006 in the USA, university degree: Bachelor of Psychology |
| Ferry Tour Victories | 2016: Ellie Mae Classic at TPC Stonebrae; 2017: BMW Charity Prom-Am, Rust-Oleum Championship; 2018: Knoxville Open; 2020: Albertsons Boise Open; 2021: Emerald Coast Classic at Sandestin |
| US Open participations | 2015 (Cut), 2017 (60th place) and 2020 (34th place) |
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Twelve questions for the golf professional
Mr. Jäger, when was the last time you were in Eichenried?
That was Christmas 2019. The Corona crisis unfortunately ruined two more planned trips to my home country. But for the BMW International Open this year, should it take place, I will come back to Eichenried.
You worked with the Eichenrieder pro Ken Williams at the beginning and later also in the USA. Is he still your online coach?
I have a coach here in the USA. I had a conversation with Ken a few years ago and explained to him that my trainer should live closer to me so that I can exchange ideas and train at any time. Ken and I are still in contact.
Can you live well with the prize money?
If you play well on the tour, you can make a living very well. It’s going really well at the moment. I am sponsored by golf outfitters Ping and Titleist, among others.
How was the past tour year under the sign of the pandemic?
We had to take a four month break. In July the first tournaments were played again, but without families and spectators. But we were all happy and overjoyed that we could play again at all.
Are you a politically interested person?
I’m not really interested in politics. The election campaign was also not a big issue for us golfers.
America – a divided country? Can you feel that in circles of friends and athletes?
The US has been divided for a long time: you’re either a Democrat or a Republican. That has not changed in the past few years either.
After almost 15 years in the USA, do you feel more like an American or a German?
Both as a German and as an American. German is that I act in an organized manner. It is American that I react very calmly about some things.
Do you have any other hobbies besides golf?
I hike with my dog, a golden retriever. I also do fitness exercises as a recreational sport, although these are of course very golf-specific.
Do you have a sporting role model or idol?
The tiger (Woods, editor’s note) has always been my idol.
What are your sporting goals on the Korn Ferry and soon the PGA tour?
Of course, victories – that is the goal of every athlete. The greatest would be success in the majors or as a member of the Rydercup team.
What comes after a career as a professional golfer?
I haven’t given much thought to that yet. Golf is my job and that’s what I live for. After my career I will stay in the USA, the weather there is simply better than in Germany. And that’s good for my job.
You have been married to Shelby Garren since 2018. What does family planning look like?
We’ll wait a few more years for children. We are now happy to travel together and see the world.
You can find more portraits from our Erdings Top 100 series on our overview page.
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