"IF YOU LIKE GOLF"
online golf column
by
Chris Dortch

August 12, 2011

UTC golfer Stephan Jaeger knew it was time. He had struggled with his putting all summer, and the only solution he could think of was to find another putter, if for no other reason than to show his old one it could be replaced.

Actually, once Jaeger tried a Yes Sophia putter on for size, his old putter had become a distant memory. There had to be some good mojo by using a blade that had the same name as his mother. And then there was the story about PGA Tour star Jim Furky, who last year found an old Sophia putter in a bargain bin, paid $39 for it and then when out and won the $1.35 million Tour Championship and a $10 million bonus for winning the 2010 FedEx Cup playoffs.

It’ll be a while before Jaeger can compete for that kind of dough—he plans on playing his final season of college golf and trying to rack up his third straight Southern Conference Player of the Year award. But before he tees it up for the Mocs, Jaeger’s got some business to take care of later this month—the U.S. Amateur.

This will be the first and last time Jaeger competes in the Amateur. He’ll turn pro after the Mocs make their last swing of the 2012 season, presumably in the NCAA Championships.

Jaeger plans on getting the most out of his Amateur experience. If he makes it past medal play qualifying at the Blue Mound Golf and Country Club near Milwaukee, he’ll move on to Erin Hills Country Club which will play at a record-setting 7,760 yards.

“I’m very happy for him,” UTC coach Mark Guhne said. “It’s always a big deal to make the field in the biggest amateur tournament in the world. He’s played in the British Amateur and had experience on some other big stages, like the NCAA championships, so he’s not going to be awestruck by being there.”

Jaeger certainly wasn’t awestruck earlier this week at the 36-hole qualifer at TPC Southwind in Memphis. The fact he was trying for the last time to compete in the Amateur, or that only three players would advance out of Memphis, never entered his mind, even though he hadn’t been playing up to his usual standards.

“I haven’t had a good summer at all,” Jaeger said. “But in my last tournament [the Porter Cup], I felt like my game was starting to come together. The only thing holding me back was my putting.”

Enter the Sophia. In his first 18-hole round in the Amateur qualifier, played in 100-degree heat, Jaeger needed just 27 putts in shooting a 3-under-par 67. He was the only player to break par in the morning round, and only two others shot even.

“The golf course was tough,” Jaeger said. “But I knew if I did my thing in the second 18, I’d be OK. I started out 2 over after nine holes on the second 18, but I kept fighting back and made a couple of birdies.”

As it turned out, Jaeger, who needed only 28 putts in his afternoon round, didn’t even have to have those closing birdies. University of Memphis player Jonathan Fly, who won the 2010 Tennessee Amateur and the 2011 Tennessee Open, shot 65 after a morning 70 to claim the qualifying medal, but Jaeger was three shots clear of the third qualifier, Steve Lee.

Having confidence with the putter has had a positive effect on the rest of Jaeger’s game. Twice during the qualifier Jaeger hit the pin, and the second time, on a par-3, he almost made a hole-in-one. He could have kicked in his birdie putts on both holes, but the Sophia answered the call, as it did all day.

“Sometimes it’s good to change,” Jaeger said. “I wasn’t feeling comfortable with my old putter anymore. I tried out a lot of putters at a golf shop one day and found this one. I didn’t pick it because my mom has the same name. It just felt good in my hands.”

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Watch out for Dr. Neil Spitalny in the Tennessee Senior Amateur, which will be played next week at Council Fire. Spitalny, a former Council Fire member, knows the course well. But more important, he’s been playing excellent golf the last couple of years.

This summer he made the cut at the British Senior Amateur, and this week he qualified for the U.S. Senior Amateur for the second year in a row.

Spitalny didn’t have to travel as far as Jaeger did to qualify. He competed for one of five spots at the Governors Towne Club in Acworth, Ga., where a 71 got him into a five-way playoff for the last three spots.

Several Chattanooga-area seniors will be competing at Council Fire, including Lex Tarumianz, Mike Jenkins, Wes Gilliland, Larry McGill, Randy Yoder, Gary Baker, Ronnie Law and Tom Baird, who won the Tennessee Senior Match Play last year at his home course, Chattanooga Golf and Country Club.

The Senior Amateur, won by Chattanooga amateur legend Lew Oehmig five straight years (1969-73), is a 54-hole stroke play event. The defending champion is Jerry Ishee II of Nashville. Spitalny and McGill tied for fourth in 2010.

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