ARNOLD PALMER INVITATIONAL

March 8, 2024

Stephan Jaeger

Bay Hill Club and Lodge

Quick Quotes

Q. Bogey-free 67. Just considering how hard it is out there and the scores that have come in so far, how good was that today?

STEPHAN JAEGER: It was awesome. I played really solid. I had one bad golf shot, I think, today. It was off the tee on 14, the little par-4. I hit it in the left bunker, which is a terrible shot. Ended up making a nice par there. But the rest was, if I did hit it in the rough, it was on the par-5s, and I would lay up and hit a wedge close and make birdie. So, it was one of those days, kind of, you know, it was nice, I was putting nice, kind of left myself in the right spots, and any time I missed a green I would get a nice, I hit a nice chip and make an up-and-down, so, overall, obviously a great day.

Q. What's the sense of accomplishment in beating this golf course for a day?

STEPHAN JAEGER: Yeah, I don't know beating it, I just try to hit the best shots I physically can on each hole. If it end up being 67, that's great. If it ends up being 73, that's great. Sometimes out here you can get a bad bounce and make a quick bogey, quick double. One bad swing away from disaster. So, you just kind of got to stick to -- I got to stick to what I'm doing, just hitting golf shots and go find 'em and try to hit the best one again.

Q. People watching and see how hard it is out there today, as a player, do you see that as an opportunity, that you really can separate yourself with a solid round?

STEPHAN JAEGER: Yeah, I think everybody's just trying to fit fairways and greens, to be honest with you, as dumb and simple as that sounds. You start hitting it in the rough on par-4s, missing greens and getting in some bad spots, I mean, you could shoot 3-, 4-, 5-over easy. Especially with the weekend, what it brings here normally, we can kind of see that this afternoon, the greens are getting firmer and a little fiery. So, you just got to, if you miss the fairway, you got to get lucky a little bit. You got to miss the fairway on the right holes as well. Golf's always a little bit of luck, so that was definitely on my side today.

Q. What's the best shot you hit today that didn't get rewarded?

STEPHAN JAEGER: I think there's a few. You think back on, I think it's No. 12, the par-5, I hit a nice 4-iron there. Front pin. You really have maybe five yards to land it on, on the upslope right there, and kill it. I landed on the green and it kind of chased behind there. I ended up making birdie, I hit a nice chip to about three, four feet.

Q. It ran all the way through?

STEPHAN JAEGER: Yeah, kind of towards the bunker, in the first cut, kind of close to the rough. So, it wasn't the greatest spot with the lie, but I ended up making birdie anyway. So, that was probably, that was a really nice 4-iron, and it's one of those holes where you just don't have anywhere to go. You got to hit it in a very small spot.

Q. You talk about that one not working out, it being tough out here. Is there a shot you pulled off today that you knew going in was highly difficult, and it just makes you proud the way you pulled it off?

STEPHAN JAEGER: I told you I missed one shot today, in my sense, right, on the short par-4, 13, I think 13. That bunker was kind of on the upslope, and ball below my feet, water right, that second shot's pretty treacherous off the fairway. I didn't hit it on the green, and I felt like I hit a great shot, just to get good contact on that. These bunkers are really, really soft every year. I had a decent lie, and I just kind of hit it just left in the rough and ended up hitting a really nice chip to about two feet and making par, so...