BOCA RATON — When Jason Caron left Jupiter in 2011, he was done trying to make a living by playing golf.
Or so he thought.
He had spent almost two decades chasing his dream, had played on the PGA Tour for two seasons and the Korn Ferry Tour for too long. It was time to start a family and take a secure PGA Professional job in the Northeast.
Or so he thought.
Then Caron had a magical week at last year’s Senior PGA Championship, finishing tied for fourth, and the high finishes and magic continued. Next thing you knew, Caron, 52, had earned full-exempt status on the PGA Tour Champions by earning more than $600,000 while playing in just nine of the 27 tournaments.
“When I got done and they told me I was in the top 36, I was like, ‘How could that be?’ " Caron said. “This wasn’t supposed to happen to me.”
But it happened, and it remains one of golf’s more remarkable stories. Caron returns to Palm Beach County for this week’s James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational at Broken Sound Club in Boca Raton in an unexpected spot in life: Not only is he a full-time member on the PGA Tour Champions, he already has positioned himself for a return to the 50-and-older circuit next season.
With three top-10 finishes in five starts, including a playoff loss to Steven Alker, Caron is seventh in the Charles Schwab money list with $366,717.
“Things are trending in the right direction,” Caron said. “I was close in Tucson (playoff loss). I’m surprised I played this great early in the year. It’s proven to me I have what it takes to play out here.”
