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HAYWARD, Calif. (AP) — Stephan Jaeger backed up his record 12-under 58 with a 65 on Friday, giving him a five-stroke lead halfway through the Web.com Tour's Ellie Mae Classic.
The 27-year-old German player matched the lowest score ever on a substantial tour Thursday with the 58. Japan's Ryo Ishikawa also shot a 12-under 58 to win the 2010 Crowns on the Japan Tour. Jaeger broke the Web.com Tour record of 59, and set another tour record Friday with his 17-under 123 total.
"I don't know about all those records, but I'd love to get the tournament scoring record at the end of the week," Jaeger said. "It's a long time to go to think about that stuff. I've got two more days. I just want to keep playing how I am, keep giving myself opportunities, and getting hot at the right moments and making putts. It's just another day of golf tomorrow. If I can get another good round tomorrow, it'll make it a little easier on Sunday, but we'll see."
On Friday at TPC Stonebrae, Jaeger bogeyed the first hole and birdied Nos. 8-10 and 15-17.
"You never know how you're going to start after a round like this," Jaeger said. "It's a brand new day. You can start out cold like I did or you can come out red hot. "I was playing good, got a couple of bad lies, but kept playing good, giving myself opportunities. I'm very, very happy with the score. I'm very happy with how I played, and how I dealt with it so far."
Jaeger came to the United States as a foreign exchange student in 2006. He went to high school for two years in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and played in college at Tennessee-Chattanooga, where he was a three-time Southern Conference player of the year.
Jaeger is 102nd on the money list, with the top 25 at end of the season earning PGA Tour cards. The winner Sunday will get $108,000.
Former California star Brandon Hagy and Rhein Gibson were tied for second. Hagy had a 63, and Gibson shot 66.
"If you had said I'd be at 12 under after two rounds, I'd have been pretty stoked," Gibson said. "I'm in a good position, and hopefully Jaeger doesn't get too far ahead. But still, 36 holes left and just try to keep doing what I'm doing."
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