Torrey Pines bit back on Friday, but Germany’s Stephan Jaeger maintained a one-stroke lead after three rounds of the Farmers Insurance Open in San Diego.
The golfers who made the tournament cut are playing the third and fourth rounds at Torrey Pines’ famed South Course. Jaeger posted a 1–over-par 73 to slip to 11–under 205, but he still found himself on top after a shakeup on the par-5 18th hole.
Thomas Detry of Belgium was alone in the lead at 11 under when his third shot at the 543-yard hole landed in the greenside water hazard. After a penalty stroke, he only managed a double-bogey 7 and fell to 9 under.
Jaeger, who had six bogeys and four birdies to that point in his round, stuck his third shot at the same hole inside 6 feet of the pin.
He converted the ensuing birdie putt to move up to 11 under, one shot clear of France’s Matthieu Pavon (72 on Friday) and Denmark’s Nicolai Hojgaard (73). Detry also signed for a 73 and is alone in fourth.
“Super happy with how (I) mentally kind of attacked the golf course in different places now,” Jaeger said. “I didn’t have my best stuff (Friday), so I'd love to putt a little better, hit a little more fairways (Saturday). But it’s golf.”
Jaeger, 34, is the World No. 101 and has won six times on the Korn Ferry Tour but not on the PGA Tour yet. Should he win, he is projected to move to the top of the new “Aon Swing 5” standings and therefore qualify for next week’s signature event, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
Jaeger called winning a “learned skill.”
“I remember Brooks (Koepka) saying that like he just does his stuff in majors and all of a sudden here comes Sunday afternoon, he’s there,” Jaeger said. “That’s so much harder done than said. Like I said, it’s definitely something I’ve done before, but I’m going to lean on stuff I’ve been really working on the last six months or a year.”
Hojgaard, 22, is looking for a breakthrough win in the United States after three victories on the DP World Tour, including last November’s DP World Tour Championship.
“It’s easy on a day like this to get ahead and think, ‘Oh, we’ve got chances there,’” Hojgaard said. “You’ve got to stay in the moment. I’ve done it before and now I’ve got a chance on the PGA Tour, so if it happens tomorrow or not, it isn’t really going to affect me too much. I’ve got my focus on a long process of it all.”
Pavon is currently projected for third place in the Aon Swing 5. With three birdies and three bogeys Friday, he had the steadiest round of any of the top four players.
“It is always nice to start the season the right way,” Pavon said. “For me it has some value to start the season well, to finish it exactly the same thing. ... Starting well gives you a little bit of confidence, let’s say, and I’m really happy with the position I am so far.”
Detry called his double-bogey finish “really tough” but kept his head high.
“I just have to face adversity and just try to learn from it again, I guess,” Detry said. “More real things that you can learn from it again, you know. Yeah, I felt like I really did everything the right way on the last couple holes and it really didn’t pay off and (No. 18) was an expensive one.”
Three strokes off the pace at 8 under are Trace Crowe (69), Jake Knapp (70), Taylor Montgomery (70), Joe Highsmith (71) and Canada’s Taylor Pendrith (69).
Will Zalatoris, playing in his third tournament back from a lengthy injury absence, shot his second straight 68 on Friday and is part of a large tie at 7 under that also includes Xander Schauffele (72), Tony Finau (74) and Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg (69).
