HOUSTON – Stephan Jager made nine consecutive pars on the back nine and held off a crowded field of contenders to win the Houston Open for his first career PGA Tour victory on March 31 at Memorial Park Golf Course.

The 34-year-old from Germany had won on the Korn Ferry Tour six times, but he earned his breakthrough on the PGA Tour by shooting a final-round, three-under 67 to card a 12-under 268 total.

“I was hitting good shots, hitting good putts, they just weren’t dropping,” Jager said. “I didn’t feel like I was playing defence at all, it just – this game’s very hard. It’s hard to win on the PGA Tour and I’m super glad that I made it.”

Jager missed a birdie try at the par-four 18th and tapped in for par to put the pressure on American world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who was vying for his third victory in as many starts.

Scheffler had stuck his approach shot to 5½ feet and would have forced a play-off with Jager with a birdie. But his putt trickled just to the left of the cup.

“Obviously, playing Scottie last couple of days, he’s been on a tear, so to kind of slay the dragon a little bit this week was amazing,” Jager said. “He’s such a good dude, such a good player. I was just happy to play with him a couple of days.”

Jager was tied for the 54-hole lead with Scheffler, England’s David Skinns, Belgium’s Thomas Detry and rookie Alejandro Tosti of Argentina. Jager had four birdies and one bogey on his front nine before the steady finish.

“I’m super excited to get it done,” he said. “I couldn’t have dreamt a better way to finishing and beating (the) No. 1 player in the world.”

Scheffler finished the day with four birdies and two bogeys. He had got back to 11 under with a two-putt birdie at the par-five 16th but failed to tie it up after that.

“I put up a good fight, felt like I had some weird breaks this week,” said the 27-year-old, who was likely rueing a three-putt double bogey on his final hole in the second round. “That’s kind of the thing, like it’s tough to describe, but obviously I’m a bit disappointed.”

Regarding his attempt to force a play-off on March 31: “I didn’t think it was going to move very much and I tried to hit it straight and I feel like I started right in the middle and looked like it broke off pretty hard, so just a misread,” he said.

Scheffler posted a 68 and finished in a five-way tie for second with defending champion Tony Finau (66 on March 31), Taylor Moore (67), Detry (68) and Tosti (68).

Tosti was in a tie for the lead after birdying the 16th, but a bad drive and a long chip on the 18th left him a tough 19-footer for par that he could not make to stay at 12 under.

“It was just a terrible lie. I had to almost grind the club by the shaft,” Tosti said. “Yeah, I thought it was going to come out a little bit slow because also the ball was seating and it took off.

“Just really sad that the ball didn’t hole on the second shot. I was out of position and tried to play smart, but I had a great day.”

On the LPGA Tour, Nelly Korda won for the second straight week, posting a seven-under 65 in her final round on March 31 to capture the Ford Championship in Gilbert, Arizona.

She had a bogey-free day with seven birdies, including two birdies over her final three holes that helped her outlast Australia’s Hira Naveed (66) by two shots. Korda finished at 20-under 268 at Seville Golf and Country Club.

It marked not only two wins in two weeks for her, but also three in three LPGA Tour starts. The 25-year-old American won the LPGA Drive On Championship in January and did not partake in the tour’s Asian swing.

“Yeah, just honestly feels like a blur,” said the world No. 1.

“Taking it day by day, really trying to stay very present and just played really good golf, solid golf in tough conditions today, which I’m very happy about.”

The last player to win three consecutive LPGA starts was Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn in 2016. No American player had pulled off the feat since Nancy Lopez rattled off five straight wins in 1978.

“It’s very hard mentally to be 100 per cent, especially after a win, especially playing in tough conditions,” Korda said. “So as boring as it sounds, I was just taking it shot by shot and seeing where I was going to end up.” REUTERS