The first major of the 2025 men’s golf calendar is this month’s Masters, but a PGA of America Golf Professional is already in mid-season form on the PGA Tour Champions. Jason Caron, the PGA of America Head Professional at Mill River Club in Oyster Bay, New York, qualified for the tour after a strong series of finishes following last year’s Senior PGA Championship. In his second start on the PGA Tour Champions this year, Caron birdied the final three holes at the Cologuard Classic in Tucson, Arizona, to take the clubhouse lead before finishing second to past Senior PGA Championship winner Steven Alker in a playoff. Golf.com recounted the scene in a story pointing out that Caron earned $193,000 for his second-place finish, setting him up for a strong 2025 season on tour as he juggles his pair of golf dream jobs.
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Just as Caron’s play proves that PGA of America Golf Professionals can be competitive on the world’s tours, the Michigan PGA Section keeps showing that its members are pretty strong on the ice, too. Fox 47 News reported on the Michigan PGA REACH Foundation and the Detroit Red Wings Alumni lacing up the skates for the third annual Patriot Classic Charity Hockey Game, played in February on the campus of Michigan State University. The proceeds benefited PGA HOPE Michigan, Folds of Honor and Spike’s K9 Fund – which provides equipment for working K9 dogs – and gave more than 20 Michigan PGA Members the chance to play against retired NHL stars like Dino Ciccarelli, Darren McCarty and Joe Kocur. Michigan PGA Section Professionals George Bowman and Dean Kolstad, a former NHL player, helped organize the event, which has raised more than $230,000 over the past three years. The Red Wings alums skated to an 8-6 victory, but charity and camaraderie were the real winners.
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Another PGA of Amer ica Golf Professional making an impact on the world’s tours – in a coaching capacity – is 2020 PGA of America Teacher & Coach of the Year Mark Blackburn. Longtime PGA TOUR professional Russell Henley recently started working with Blackburn and notched a victory at last month’s Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando in the first week the pair worked to gether in person. “Mark Blackburn gave me a chipping lesson this week, watched me hit some,” Henley told Golfweek. “And I got some up and down this week that gave me a lot of confidence.” For the week at Bay Hill Club & Lodge, Henley ranked first in Strokes Gained: Around the Green and chipped in for eagle on the 16th hole of the final round to spark his victory over past PGA Champion Collin Morikawa. Congrats to both Henley and Blackburn on taking a turn in the winner’s circle.
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PGA of America Member Derek Sprague continues to make the media rounds in his new role as PGA of America CEO, most recently by sitting for an interview with Sports Business Jour nal to discuss the Association and the state of golf. The conversation started with Sprague detailing his excitement for next month’s PGA Champion ship at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, and how the Championship’s all-inclusive tickets will make the event more fun for the thousands of fans on-site. Sprague also discussed the upcoming Ryder Cup at New York’s Bethpage Black this September, and the PGA of America’s role in helping collaborate with other golf governing bodies to keep the professional and recreational sides of the game prosperous into the future. Check out the video interview and hear it for yourself.
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