MEMPHIS, Tenn. — His caddie walks away from the hole and toward the bag and — once he’s alone — lets out a simple and solemn, “F—.” Another great approach shot. Another missed birdie putt, centimeters away from falling in. It’s been this way the entire day. Just one more birdie could be enough. But Stephen Jaeger just taps in his par, picks up his ball and walks up along the ropes to high-five some kids.
Jaeger writes the score in his book and genially says, “We’ll make one eventually.”
But eventually is running out. There’s just three holes to go. Three holes left in the first tournament of the FedEx Cup playoffs, the St. Jude Championship. Three holes to try and crack the top 50 in the season-long standings — to not just make the BMW Championship in Chicago next week but also guarantee himself a spot in all eight elevated events in 2024. He’s so close to…