Stephan Jaeger played spoiler to Scottie Scheffler's hopes of a third straight win on the PGA TOUR after claiming the Houston Open by a one-stroke margin Sunday.
Scheffler won the Arnold Palmer Invitational and his second consecutive The Players Championship earlier in March, though he sat out last week's Valspar Championship. Dustin Johnson (2017) and Rory McIlroy (2014) are the most recent players to record three straight PGA TOUR victories.
Jaeger, meanwhile, secured his first-ever PGA TOUR win Sunday, edging out a crowded field that also included Tony Finau and Alejandro Tosti. He registered nine straight pars to close out his final round after coming up with four birdies on the front nine.
| Place | Player | Total to par | Round 4 score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stephan Jaeger | -12 | 67 |
| T-2 | Scottie Scheffler | -11 | 68 |
| T-2 | Tony Finau | -11 | 66 |
| T-2 | Taylor Moore | -11 | 67 |
| T-2 | Thomas Detry | -11 | 68 |
| T-2 | Alejandro Tosti | -11 | 68 |
Scheffler missed a 5-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole that would've forced a playoff with Jaeger.
To force a playoff ...
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 31, 2024
A narrow miss by Scottie Scheffler whose bid to win three straight falls one shot short pic.twitter.com/RMgjfQB7u3
"He's been playing some unbelievable golf. ... It was such a blast the last couple of days to fight with him," Jaeger said, per the Golf Channel. "You just know that he's gonna have some good stuff. I just tried to stay with him myself."
It was a roller-coaster tournament for the world's top-ranked player, who also lost his streak of 28 consecutive rounds under par Friday.
Scheffler fired a 4-under 66 to join a five-way tie for first heading into Sunday's action, while Jaeger recorded a pair of 4-under 66s over Friday and Saturday to enter contention.
Finau fell just short of going back-to-back at the Houston Open. He won the event by four strokes in 2022; the tournament wasn't held in 2023.
Jaeger's first victory comes after 134 previous starts on the PGA TOUR. The 34-year-old German turned pro in 2012 and has picked up six wins on the Korn Ferry Tour.
