HAYWARD (AP) — Stephan Jaeger broke one more Web.com Tour record and tied another Sunday in the Ellie Mae Classic, finishing his four-day scoring frenzy at TPC Stonebrae at 30-under 250.
“I don’t know what to say really, I’m speechless,” the 27-year-old German player said. “I played good today and all week really. It was a phenomenal week for me.”
He broke Steve Wheatcroft’s 72-hole stroke record of 255 set in the 2011 Melwood Prince George’s County Open, and tied Daniel Chopra’s mark for relation to par set in the 2004 Henrico County Open.
Jaeger started the record spree Thursday with a 12-under 58 that broke the Web.com Tour mark and matched the lowest score on a substantial tour.
“I obviously don’t expect that ever,” Jaeger said about the 58. “Starting out the week like that, you kind of want to wonder is it your week? But yeah, it’s a great feeling to stand here and talk about it. Hopefully, we’ll do it many more times.”
He followed with rounds of 65, 64 and 63, parring the final three holes Sunday for a seven-stroke victory over Rhein Gibson.
Along the way to his first tour title, Jaeger also broke tour records with his 36- and 54-hole totals. He earned $108,000 to jump from 102nd to 20th on the money list with $139,793, with the top 25 after the final four regular-season events earning PGA Tour cards.
The German birdied five of the first nine holes Sunday, hitting a wedge to 3 feet on the par-4 first and a 6-iron to 1 1/2 feet on the par-3 second. He made a downhill 15-footer on the par-3 fourth, hit a 9-iron to 3 feet on the par-4 seventh and two-putted the par-5 ninth for his fifth birdie.
He also birdied 14 and 15, chipping to 4 feet on the par-4 14th and two-putting the par-5 15th. On the par-4 18th, he missed a 15-foot birdie try.
Jaeger came to the United States as a foreign exchange student in 2006. He went to high school for two years in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and played at Tennessee-Chattanooga, where he was a three-time Southern Conference player of the year.
Gibson birdied five of the last seven holes for a 62. Former University of California player Brandon Hagy (64) and Xander Schauffele (65) tied for third at 21 under.