Web.com Recap – Ellie Mae Classic – by Keagan Scott

What a week it was on the Web.com Tour this week at the Ellie Mae Classic in California. The par 70, TPC Stonebrae was the site this week for one of the most unforgettable tournaments of the season as Stephan Jaeger was breaking records left and right. On Thursday, he opened with a tour record 58. Let me say that again. He shot a fifty freaking eight. 12 under par. Holy smokes right? How in the world could he possibly back that up on Friday and over the weekend? Well he did just that and more. He posted a 65 on Friday, which is more incredible when I tell you he was +1 through 7, to break the 36 hole record. He continued his dominance over the weekend shooting a bogey free 64 on Saturday, breaking the 54 hole record. He entered the final round with a 7 shot lead over Xander Schauffele and left no doubt as he played another incredible round firing another bogey free 63 to break the 72 hole record with 250 strokes. The previous record was held by Steve Wheatcroft when he shot a 255 in 2011.

It was a memorable tournament to say the least. For someone to go out and shoot 58 on a Thursday and follow it with three more incredible rounds is really quite remarkable, especially for a guy that was sitting in 102nd place on the money list with a lot on the line. This win is going to be enormously valuable as he tries to gain a PGA Tour card.
I could write this entire article talking about how extraordinary these four days were for Stephen Jaeger, but there were others in the field as well so let’s get to them and check out the coveted Top 25. Hint: Stephen Jaeger does make another appearance. The dude shot 58-65-64-63. How could I not include him in my notable players?

Notable Players:

1. Stephen Jaeger
The man, the myth, the legend. The University of Tennessee – Chattanooga alumni made playing golf comparable to the Monstars vs a Michael Jordan-less Tune Squad. It’s been a long road to this point for Jaeger to say the least (there’s a reason he was 102nd on the money list). The German – born player turned pro in 2012 and after a bad year on the Web.com Tour in 2013, he lost his tour card and had to go back to Q School. He did well there and made it back on the Web.com Tour and after a shaky 86th place finish on the money list last year, he only had conditional status for this year. My goodness how fast things have changed in just four days. He now sits in 20th place on the money list and will be fighting for a PGA Tour card the rest of the season. At the very least he’s given himself a chance to breathe as he’s secure for the Web.com Tour next season if he falls from the top 25.

2. Rhein Gibson: 73rd to 32nd
The 30 year old Australian took second place this week. On a normal week his 257 strokes would’ve probably been good enough for the win considering it’s only two shots more than the previous record I mentioned earlier. Rhein turned pro in 2009 and this was only his 5th Web.com Tour event so far this season because of his success last season. Last year, he took 4th place in the Web.com Tour Championship which vaulted him to 20th in the final priority ranking to gain his PGA Tour card. On the PGA Tour this season he’s played in 18 events, making the cut eight times with one top 25. On the Web.com Tour this season he’s gotten 2nd place in last two events.

3. Brandon Hagy: 32nd to 22nd
The young Californian finished in a tie for third this week, which moved him inside top 25. Brandon has been hit or miss this season. In his last 9 tournaments he’s gone 5th, cut, cut, 69th, 4th, cut, 44th, cut, 3rd. Those results hit home the fact that he needs to be much more consistent if he wants to stay in the top 25. It seems like he either misses the cut or finishes in the top 10. In the 12 events he’s played in this year, he’s made 8 cuts with four top 25’s (all of which were actually top 10’s as well).

4. Xander Schauffele: 43rd to 27th
I wrote about Xander last week after his 3rd place finish at the Utah Championship. Well, he’s done it again with his second consecutive 3rd place finish. In his last two tournaments, he’s gone from 89th to 27th on the money list. In his 16 events so far this season, he’s made eight cuts with back to back top five finishes. Great example of what a few good tournaments can do for your standing. He’s gone from potentially missing the Tour Championship (top 75 qualify), to potentially gaining his PGA Tour card next season if he continues this kind of play.

5. Cheng Tsung Pan: 19th to 12th
From Taipai, Cheng Tsung Pan took 6th place this week and is on an absolute roll the past month. So far this season he’s made 12 of 17 cuts with five top 10’s and nine top 25’s. During his last five tournaments he has finished in 19th, 2nd, 16th, 10th and 6th. Obviously, he’s made a gigantic leap on the money list during that time span and I’d expect him to be easily inside the top 25 once the season concludes.

6. JT Poston: 28th to 24th
The Western Carolina graduate turned pro in 2015 and is another example of a guy who needs to be more consistent. He took 13th place this week, which was good enough to move him inside the top 25. In 11 events this year, he’s made six cuts including three top 10’s. The problem is he seems to be very similar to Brandan Hagy either missing the cut or finishing in the top 15. He’ll need to be more consistent moving forward.

Top 25 Money List

RANK       PLAYER                   COMBINED
1                Wesley Bryan           $332,392
2                Ollie Schniederjans  $277,271
3                Richy Werenski        $263,470
4                Martin Flores           $249,431
5                Dominic Bozzelli       $214,307
6                J.J. Spaun                 $213,820
7                Trey Mullinax          $206,859
8                Ryan Armour           $196,070
9                Seamus Power         $192,881
10              Brad Fritsch             $191,186
11              Brian Campbell         $170,138
12              Cheng Tsung Pan     $161,182
13              Max Homa                $155,653
14              Sebastian Munoz      $155,001
15              Nicholas Lindheim   $153,694
16              Joel Dahmen             $150,267
17              Andrew Svoboda      $144,834
18              Julian Etulain            $144,024
19              Jonathan Randolph  $142,896
20             Stephan Jaeger         $139,793
21             Matt Atkins               $133,218
22             Brandon Hagy           $133,096
23             James Driscoll           $122,537
24             JT Poston                   $120,718
25             Jason Millard             $117,910

THE TOP 25 EARN A PGA TOUR CARD
26              Bhavik Patel             $117,239
27              Xander Schauffele    $113,916
28              Zack Sucher              $113,849
29              Ryan Blaum              $113,560
30              Josh Teater              $113,515

• Moved into the top 25
o Stephan Jaeger: 102nd to 20th
o Brandon Hagy: 32nd to 22nd
o JT Poston: 28th to 24th

• Moved out of the top 25
o Zach Sucher: 24th to 28th
o Ryan Blaum: 22nd to 29th
o Sebastian Cappelen: 25th to 31st

Again, props to Stephen Jaeger on the record shattering performance. He broke the 18, 36, 54 and 72 hole records. He shot a score that no man on the Web.com Tour or PGA Tour has shot before. It will be extremely interesting moving forward to see how he handles being someone of notoriety. Can he keep the momentum going and stay in the top 25? Or will he slowly fade into the standings like his past results have shown? Time will tell.
Next week the Web.com Tour heads to Kansas playing the Nickalaus GC at Lionsgate for the Digital Ally Open. Thanks again everybody!
Follow me Twitter: @Keagan28