“You never think Scottie Scheffler’s going to miss” - PGA Tour’s Netflix superstar Joel Dahmen ‘super happy’ for Stephan Jaeger’s debut win
Joel Dahmen stood on the edge of the 18th hole at Memorial Park Municipal Golf Course to witness his friend Stephan Jaeger's victory at the Houston Open. Dahmen summed up the tension of the moment by saying "You never think Scottie Scheffler's going to miss."
Stephan Jaeger and Joel Dahmen have a well-known friendly relationship, so it's no coincidence that Dahmen stayed the course despite missing the cut. Jaeger remained in contention and eventually beat none other than World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler by one stroke.
After the tournament was over, Joel Dahmen had this to say to the PGA Tour News Service:
"You never think that Scottie [Scheffler] is going to miss, [he is] the best golfer in the world right now, by far, and to have [Stephan] Jaeger be in the final group and stare him down was awesome."
"Scottie probably didn't have his A-game but... Just that hole sequence [at the 18th green], like, Stephan had a great putt, didn't go in, and then Scottie got to four, four-and-a-half, five feet or something, you just assume that it's going in, you're going to a playoff. So, just super happy for him."
Joel Dahmen and Stephan Jaeger's friendship is well known in the golf world. The two have even played together in the only team tournament on the calendar, the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
Joel Dahmen is one of the PGA Tour stars featured in the second season of Full Swing, which premiered on Netflix in early March 2024. Dahmen describes there the stage of his career that spans to 2023, as well as details of his family life.
A recap of Stephan Jaeger's victory at the Houston Open
Stephan Jaeger was in contention throughout the Houston Open, with scores of 69, 66 and 66 for the first three rounds. This placed him tied for first after 54 holes, so it fell to him to play in the final group for the final round. In that same group was Scottie Scheffler.
Stephan Jaeger and Scottie Scheffler competed head-to-head throughout the round. Already on the second hole, Scheffler had tied the score, and they stayed that way until the 6th hole, when Scheffler himself bogeyed and was one stroke behind.
Stephan Jaeger imitated him with a bogey on the 7th and the match was tied again. But the German recovered quickly and birdied the 8th and 9th to lead Scheffler by one stroke, as the Texan also birdied the 9th.
On the back nine, the tension was high, as Jaeger parred all the way to the 17th, while Scheffler bogeyed the 15th and birdied the 16th. They reached the 18th, with the German leading by one.
Jaeger hit the 18th fairway with a 329-yard drive, and managed to reach the green with his second shot, leaving the ball 21 feet from the hole. Scheffler, meanwhile, also reached the green in two strokes, but his ball laid much more favorably than the German's, just five feet from the hole.
Jaeger missed his birdie putt by two inches, leaving Scheffler's putter with a chance to force a playoff. However, the World No. 1's putt went just left of the edge of the cup to give the German his first title at this level.