By Jeremy Harness

dailymail.com photo: Stephan Jaeger set another record going a total of minus 17 on Friday at the PGA Web.com Tour’s Ellie Mae Classic in Hayward

HAYWARD–Stephan Jaeger bogeyed the first hole that he played on Friday, which is enough to cause doubt to creep into the average golfer’s mind, as they wonder how the rest of the round is going to go.

That didn’t happen to Jaeger, however. A day removed from the record-setting 58 that he fired in the opening round of the Web.com Tour’s Ellie Mae Classic, he would not have another bogey on his card for the rest of the day and soon built on to his lead.

Seven holes later, the German native began yet another birdie streak that was a familiar theme on Thursday, running off three in a row before recording three more on holes 15 through 17 to go into the clubhouse with a five-stroke lead and an overall score of 17-under par.

In the process, he put his name on the best 36-hole mark in Web.com Tour history with a score of 123, beating out the 124 that was held by Kevin Chappell and Martin Piller.

Among Jaeger’s closest followers on the leaderboard is Rhein Gibson, who followed his opening-round 62 with a four-under 66 and is currently 12-under par, briefly tying Jaeger atop the leaderboard before he went on the first of his two birdie streaks.

Brandon Hagy, who is now projected to sneak into the top-25 on the tour’s money list – which gives players full exemption on the PGA Tour next season – fired a seven-under 63 to get into a tie for second as the weekend rolls around.

An intriguing story involves Austin Cook, who made it through five Monday qualifiers on the PGA Tour last year but could not hold on to his tour card, thus his current status on this tour. He is currently tied for 10^th at eight-under, and if this holds up, he will crack the top-25 and put him in great position for that elusive card on the big tour.

As a tale of how unpredictable the game of golf is from week to week, Nicholas Lindheim, who was victorious in last week’s Utah Championship, was among the ones who missed the cut – which was set at three-under – and will not play the final two rounds this weekend.

Lindheim was far from the only notable to miss the cut on Friday. Of the players in the top-25 on the Web.com Tour’s money list, nine of them saw their tournaments end after the second round, including Cal product Max Homa, who bounced back from an opening-round 73 to post a 67 on Friday but was not enough to make the cut.

Homa, however, is in very good shape in the overall standings, as he currently sits in the 12^th position on the money list and stands a great chance to gain his card for next year.