Stephan Jäger’s dream has come true. For the first time, the heavy, green iron gate to Magnolia Lane at Augusta National Golf Club opens for him.
The 34-year-old from Munich can hardly wait to drive up the beautiful avenue to the iconic, white clubhouse as a participant in the Masters. “I’ve had several opportunities to play this course. But so far I’ve always avoided it. I said I wouldn’t go there unless I qualified for the Masters.”
The debut victory on the PGA Tour in Houston at the beginning of April was the entry ticket into the big world of golf for the German, who lives in the USA. The tour card is secure for two years, access to the most lucrative events on the US tour is open – he has finally arrived in the world of stars around Tiger Woods, Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy.
With confidence in the Augusta National Golf Club
Starting this Thursday, Jäger will make his debut at the traditional Masters in the US state of Georgia. He climbs this new career level with confidence. “I will try to have a chance of winning again on Sunday. I think my golf game is good enough for that,” revealed Jäger in the run-up to “Bild am Sonntag”. “I’m not playing the tournament just to be there and watch.”
Getting to Augusta National Golf Club was a long journey for hunters. As a 17-year-old teenager, he went from Munich to Baylor High School in Chattanooga, Tennessee, to play golf, and later went to university there. “Steven” – as he is called by his American friends – still lives in the city of 200,000 inhabitants on the Tennessee River with his wife Shelby and their 16-month-old son Harrison Fritz.
Instructive years in league two
Jäger made it onto the PGA Tour for the first time in 2017 via the second-rate Web.com Tour (now the Korn Ferry Tour). However, he was unable to establish himself there in sport and had to give up his right to play on the highest US tour. Over the years he gained experience, tough competition and victories, especially in League Two. In 2021, he finished No. 1 on the Korn Ferry Rankings, was named Player of the Year, and was promoted back to the PGA Tour. “If you win on the Korn Ferry Tour, you can win on the PGA Tour, and if you can do that six times, it’s no coincidence,” said Hunter’s friend and tour colleague Joel Dahmen, who is famous for the Netflix series ” Full Swing” has achieved a certain level of fame.
March 2022 was a crucial month for the Jäger couple. Stephan’s father Klaus, who introduced him to golf, died. “It was hard and it made him realize that golf wasn’t everything,” recalls Shelby Jäger in an interview with the PGA Tour. That same week they both found out that Shelby was pregnant. From then on, she says, her husband became much more patient in all aspects of life. On the golf course, he no longer felt so depressed and frustrated when he played a bad round. Stephan Jäger’s new attitude on and off the golf course is having an impact – perhaps also at the Augusta National Golf Club.
