Stephan Jaeger, Austin Smotherman secure lead prior to storm at Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation

COLLEGE GROVE, Tenn. – A par save turned into the momentum-building moment of the morning for Stephan Jaeger and Austin Smotherman. Jaeger got up and down from a tricky spot near No. 1 green, while Smotherman escaped a greenside bunker at the par-4 12th, The Grove’s second-toughest hole Thursday. Jaeger and Smotherman carded matching 7-under 65s to lead a partially completed opening round at the Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation.

The first round was suspended due to lightning at 5:37 p.m. local time, and will resume at 7 a.m. Friday morning. The afternoon wave’s final groups completed 10 holes prior to the suspension. Friday’s second-round tee times will be delayed by 30 minutes.

Playing in the first group off the 10th tee at 6:45 a.m., and with temperatures in the 40s, Jaeger parred the first four holes of the day. The University of Tennessee-Chattanooga alum rattled off three straight birdies as the sun broke through the morning’s light cloud cover, threw in another at the par-5 18th, made his key par save at No. 1, and drained four more birdies on the front nine. A three-putt bogey at No. 9, however, capped the day on a sour note.

“Once the sweater came off on No. 14, I started making some birdies, warmed up nicely, and got into a roll,” Jaeger said. “I played solid, kept it in play, putted good. I made some really good swings on par 5s that gave me some pretty good eagle looks. I’m happy with it.”

Jaeger, a native of Munich, Germany and current Chattanooga resident, won a month ago at the Emerald Coast Classic at Sandestin. It was the sixth victory of his Korn Ferry Tour career, moving him within one win of Jason Gore’s all-time record. It was also Jaeger’s second win of the 2020-21 season, and a third would earn him an immediate promotion to the PGA TOUR.

In three starts since the win in Miramar Beach, Florida, Jaeger has two missed cuts and a T37 finish.

“I think I’ve paid my dues missing some cuts,” Jaeger said. “You’re coming off a win, and you’re not missing a golf shot. Your expectations have to be totally different going into the week. New golf course, new sightlines, different greens, different green speeds. It’s really hard to adjust that quickly.

“There is so much golf left this week, but you ask any of the guys who’ve won twice, it’s in the forefront of their minds,” continued Jaeger, who is ranked No. 1 in the 2020-21 Korn Ferry Tour points standings and is one of five players already over the 1,700-point threshold the Korn Ferry Tour is currently using as its fail-safe number for players to finish inside of the top 25 and earn PGA TOUR cards. “The good thing is, I’ll be on TOUR no matter what at the beginning of September. It would expedite what I’m trying to do, and it gives you a chance to get in the (FedExCup) Playoffs and try to change your status a little bit for the next year.

“But, like I said, there is so much golf left. I’m not thinking too far ahead for now.”

Smotherman made the first of his seven birdies (against zero bogeys) at No. 2, a 539-yard par 5. The Loomis, California native closed the front nine with three consecutive birdies, then carded back-to-back birdies at Nos. 14 and 15. Smotherman finished his day with an 86-yard approach into the par-5 18th which stuck three inches shy of the cup for a tap-in birdie.

“I said, ‘Get down!’ Maybe talked too much to my ball there,” Smotherman said. “The big momentum saver was definitely No. 12. Caught the (greenside) bunker and hit it to 6-7 feet and made the par. After that, hit a good shot on the par 3 and made par, hit one in there to five feet (for birdie) on the next, eight feet (for birdie) on the next, a couple good pars (at Nos. 16 and 17) coming in, and then No. 18.”

Smotherman has four top-10 finishes since his first Korn Ferry Tour start in January 2019, with the most recent being a solo fourth last July at the TPC San Antonio Championship at the Oaks.

A Southern Methodist University alum, Smotherman is a top-15 player on Tour this season in driving accuracy percentage (10th) and greens in regulation percentage (12th).

“If you ask some of my college teammates, I was always the guy who hit first in our practice rounds,” Smotherman said. “Our coach would say, ‘Hit it at that tree.’ I’d hit it at the tree, we’d see if that was the right spot and the whole team would try and follow that. Even with Bryson (DeChambeau) being on the team; he’s pretty accurate.”

Jaeger and Smotherman also made par at No. 3, a par 3 which measured 173 yards Thursday and produced 11 double bogeys and another eight triple bogeys or worse, including a 13. It ended the day as the toughest hole on the course relative to par.

“The water protects the front of the green… if you hit it in the back bunker, I don’t think there’s a way to stop it on the green,” Jaeger said. “I’m glad they moved (the tee) up, because that back tee would be pretty brutal. It gets your attention. It’s one of those golf holes where you’d take three four days in a row.”