It came only moments after Thomas Detry's third shot landed well past the hole and spun back into the pond fronting the green, leading to a double bogey that cost him the lead on Friday.
It was a tough day of high scores on the blufftop municipal gem high above the Pacific Ocean. Detry took the biggest gut punch when he went from a one-shot lead on the 18th tee to dropping two shots off the pace.
Jaeger, a German who lives in Tennessee, had a 1-over 73 and was at 11-under 205 through 54 holes. Matthieu Pavon (72) of France and Denmark's Nicolai Hojgaard (73) are at 10-under while Detry, of Belgium, is 9 under after his 73.
There very well could be a first-time winner on the PGA Tour after the final round. Jaeger has never won on tour, and neither has any of the eight players within three shots of him.Â
Thomas Detry covers his face after hitting into the water on the 18th hole. (AP PHOTO)
Detry, playing in the final group with Jaeger and Hojgaard, was at 11 under going into the 543-yard, par-5 18th with the backdrop of a brilliant sunset.
He hit a 293-yard drive and a 162-yard second shot that left him 92 yards from the hole. After his wedge spun too hard and scooted into the pond, Detry covered his face with his right hand.
"I hit an amazing drive. I drove it great on 18," he said. "I was just in between 3-wood, hybrid. It's been a very long day. I think we played in 5 hours 45 (minutes). I had a little bit of mud on the ball. The lie wasn't perfect, the light was starting to be dark.
"There was a couple of different factors that were not in my favour," he said. "Obviously short is a no-go. So we decided to be smart and there we go, I got punched in the face."
After taking a penalty, he hit to within 24 feet and two-putted.
The pond is known as Devlin's Billabong for Australian Bruce Devlin, who was in contention for the 1975 Andy Williams San Diego Open before taking seven hacks to get his ball out of the water on his way to a 10.
There were a number of factors for the high scores, including tough pin placements and thick rough that was soaked during a storm Monday that overwhelmed parts of the city.
Five players were tied at 8 under while nine were 7 under, including world No.5 Xander Schauffele and Tony Finau.
Australians Min Woo Lee and Aaron Baddeley shot 72 and 73 respectively to sit seven and nine shots adrift of Jaeger.
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