Former Baylor golfers filling up PGA leaderboards like never before
by David Paschall
Turn on a PGA Tour event these days, and chances are there will be at least one Baylor School alum on the leaderboard.
Luke List, Harris English, Stephan Jaeger and Keith Mitchell have each earned top-20 finishes the past two weekends, with List tying for second at the Genesis Invitational on Feb. 18 and Jaeger tying for third this past weekend at the Mexico Open. All four Baylor golfers are in the top 50 of this season's FedEx Cup standings, and all four are ranked among the top 80 in the world.
"It's been a good little roll for Baylor golf for sure," Jaeger said Monday afternoon. "I just think it's the right time for our careers. I hope we can all get into the top 20 in the world and other big stuff.
"That would be awesome to see."
The former Red Raiders certainly have been heading in the right direction, with English advancing from 40th to 35th in the world since the start of 2024, List from 86th to 58th and Jaeger from 101st to 63rd. Mitchell has essentially stayed the same, listed this week at 77th after beginning the year 75th.
"It's awesome to have everyone playing well," English said. "I would love for Jaeger and Keith to get in the Masters, so we could have all four in. I'm not surprised at all.
"We just all need to keep it rolling."
PILING THEM UP
Career top-10 finishes for the four former Baylor School golfers currently on the PGA Tour:
Harris English — 45
Luke List — 25
Keith Mitchell — 24
Stephan Jaeger — 6
List, the oldest of the quartet at 39, is having the best stretch with a win at the Sanderson Farms Championship in early October and the recent runner-up to Hideki Matsuyama in Los Angeles.
"If I can continue to putt like that and have that attitude, I'll be up there a lot," List said in a news conference immediately after the Genesis, which he led at the midway mark of the final round. "I'll learn from this and how to handle my emotions and try to keep improving. It's just fun to be in the mix, especially in a big tournament like this."
Matsuyama won $4 million for finishing on top at Riviera, with List and Will Zalatoris each claiming $1.8 million. That is the largest earnings paycheck for a former Baylor golfer, topping the $1.476 million that List earned for the Sanderson Farms in Jackson, Mississippi.
"These elevated events are pretty strong, right?" List said. "I think that the tour has done a pretty good job of getting sponsors and the right people behind it to kind of combat what the LIV is doing and giving us an opportunity for the top guys to make their due."
List is a two-time winner on tour, while English has won four times, including twice in 2021, when he also finished third at the U.S. Open and was on the winning Ryder Cup team. English earned a seventh-place finish at this month's Genesis and the $700,000 that came with it, but his successes now transpire on the comeback trail after having to undergo hip surgery in February 2022.
"It's always fun being in contention and seeing the golf ball do what you want it to do," English said at the Genesis. "I know I still have it. Some days feel better than others, but it's just fun being in the mix with the best players in the world.
"When you're lying in a hospital bed and you're on crutches for a while — I struggled with my head for a while, and then it was time to get it done. It sucks to take that much time away from golf, but I'm glad I did it."
Jaeger has yet to win on the PGA Tour but has two top-three finishes this year, earning his first at last month's Farmers Insurance Open. A six-time winner on the Korn Ferry Tour, the German-born Jaeger who now resides in Chattanooga has made a remarkable 22 consecutive cuts.
Then there is Mitchell, the 2019 Honda Classic champion who currently has two straight top-20 finishes, tying for 17th at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and tying for 19th in Mexico.
"I would always like to prove to myself that I can win again, whether it's this year or the next five years," Mitchell said last month at the Sony Open. "I won early, and when you win early in your career, you feel like you're going to win often, and I haven't. I've only won that one time.
"That's a personal goal of mine, but golf never goes the way you plan it to go, and if you try to force a plan or force things to happen like you think it should, it backfires really quick."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.
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