The professional club on a remarkable run could capture the senior tournament card

Jason Caron is no stranger to Tour life.

The 52-year-old spent the early 2000s bouncing between the PGA and Korn Ferry tours before embarking on a career as a club pro in New York’s Metropolitan section. Caron has been the leading golf professional in the Mill River Club in Oyster Bay, NY for the past decade, working alongside his wife, Liz – a former LPGA Tour player.

After starting their family in 2013, the Carons probably thought their touring days were behind them. But for the past five months, Jason has been on a remarkable run that could earn him a coveted card on the PGA Champions Tour.

It all started when Caron qualified for the 2024 Senior PGA Championship and ended up finishing T4 – the best finish by a club professional since 2002.

In June, Caron entered the American Family Insurance Championship field as an alternate, finishing T31.

Next was the US Senior Open, which Caron had entered through a local qualifier. He missed the cut but had a chance to make it up a little more than a month later at August’s Rogers Charity Classic, where he again entered the field as an alternate. That week, Caron was T3 – a finish that put him straight into the following week’s Ally Challenge field, where he was T47.

In October, Caron received a sponsor’s exemption to play in the Constellation Furyk & Friends, where he again capitalized, finishing T4 and earning another entry into the next week’s SAS Championship, where he finished T47.

In just seven tournaments, Caron had earned enough Charles Schwab Cup points to qualify for the Charles Schwab Cup Championship playoff series, which began with last week’s game. Dominion Energy Charity Classic. Caron finished T26 to settle for 53rd on the points list – good enough to enter this week’s Simmons Bank Championship, which is open to the top 54 players on the list.

With $446,734 in earnings this year, Caron’s story would be impressive if it ended there. But after shooting an opening round of seven-under 65 in the Pleasant Valley Country Club in Little Rock, Ark. on Friday, Caron is just three shots off the lead. If he can manage to stay in his current T3 position, Caron is projected to drop from No. 53 to No. 35. The top 36 players on the points list at the end of this tournament not only earn a full exemption into Champions Tour PGA for 2025, they also gain entry to the Charles Schwab Cup Championship in Phoenix Country Club in November – the finale of the season that gives a bonus of 1 million dollars to the best finisher.

It’s mind-blowing stuff, but Caron says he’s not thinking about what it might be.

“I’m not trying to think about too many things out there, to be honest,” he said after his round. “I’m not trying to get too ahead of myself. I know this is kind of – I don’t want to say it’s an off week, but it feels a little bit like it because there’s nothing to lose for me regardless. Everyone probably knows that I’ve been watching golf lately, I mean, I have a job in Mill River, so I feel very lucky there. This is just like a bonus. We’ll see what happens.”

With a steady job he loves and two young daughters at home, Caron may be one of the few players on the field not feeling the pressure of earning a potential senior tour card this week.

“I already know my deal,” he said. “My deal is that I have a job and this is no. 1. I have two young daughters and I want to be around to see them grow up. These extra things here are just a bonus for me.”

Depending on how things go this weekend, that bonus could be bigger than expected.