Warren Sapp on working with Colorado Buffaloes, Travis Hunter and golf
Warren Sapp talks about his latest career move working with the Colorado Buffaloes, as well as the golf tournament he’s participating in on behalf of James Hardie and the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
- Despite his success on the Champions Tour, Caron remains committed to his role as Head PGA Professional at Mill River Club and prioritizes family time over chasing a full-time touring career.
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.”
Dana Quigley, Rob Labritz also representing Palm Beach County on PGA Tour Champions
Caron isn’t the first PGA Professional to earn his spot on the PGA Tour Champions. Palm Beach Gardens resident Dana Quigley made millions with his golf mulligan.
More recently, Palm Beach Gardens resident Rob Labritz did the same, spending the last three seasons playing alongside Hall of Famers such as Ernie Els, Bernhard Langer and Retief Goosen. (Labritz lost his status this year, but was given a sponsor exemption into the James Hardie.)
“To finish in the top 36 on the Champions Tour is not easy,” said Jupiter’s Brett Quigley, one of Caron’s closest friends and Dana’s nephew. “To do it in a limited amount of events is even harder. And to do it while still working as a club pro? It’s amazing, really.”
That’s correct, Caron is still working as the Head PGA Professional at the Mill River Club in Oyster, N.Y. He has worked out a deal with the club where he will continue to serve as head professional, concentrating his PGA Tour Champions schedule before May and after August, when Mill River is closed because of the weather.
Caron, who married former LPGA Tour player Liz Janangelo (they have two daughters), said his life no longer revolves around birdies and bogeys. Nor does he want it to.
“My decision to play a little on the PGA Tour Champions is not the end game,” Caron said. “I’m still the head professional at Mill River and I don’t see myself not having a job at Mill River. I don’t want to be running around chasing a white golf ball when I could be watching my girls grow up.”
While it’s been almost 15 years since he moved away from Palm Beach County, Caron will have plenty of support this week. Quite a few members at Mill River live in Boca Raton during the winter.
“I think I will have a pretty big following,” Caron said.
Caron wasn’t among the 26 PGA Tour Champions players who will be paired with a Pro Football Hall of Famer in the first two rounds. That gives him a better opportunity to concentrate on his game.
It’s interesting how playing golf becomes a little easier when the results don’t matter as much. For more than 20 years, being a touring golfer is all he cared about.
Not now. But Caron still has the same goal he had when he was younger and grinding away on the smaller tours.
“I’ve never won a PGA Tour-sanctioned event,” he said, having played in almost 240 in his career. “As a competitor, you always want to win. It would be nice to finally do that this year.”
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