THE MODERATOR: Good morning, everybody. Jason Caron is with us here at the 2025 Senior PGA Championship. It was about a year ago at Harbor Shores where you finished T4 and that kind of jump started a great year for you playing-wise. How have the last 12 months been for you?
JASON CARON: They've been amazing, to be honest. A little bit hectic at times, but it's been still like that pinch-me moment I said back a year ago when all this stuff went down. I don't understand why this happened, but it just did, and I try not to think too much about the golf aspect of it, but it's been amazing, really to be on that run that I did have and then continue it at the start of the season. It's been a lot of fun, though. I do enjoy it.
Q. What are your thoughts on your season overall so far? A few top 10s, and what do you think about the golf course and the test coming this week?
JASON CARON: Yeah, to start the season, this past winter we didn't really get to Florida a ton, so I kind of was a little rusty, went to Morocco, played actually pretty good, considering not playing a lot over the winter, and then somehow I got into a playoff. Birdied my last three holes. My caddie Derek was like, let's birdie the last three and see what happens, and I did. It was kind of like, wow.
To say how did the start of my season, it's been great, to be honest. I took last week off. I kind of felt like I needed to take an extra week off and I'm proud of myself to be able to do that because it is pretty tough to do that when you see where you stand on the list and kind of some of the great things that can happen when you're playing out here.
I knew deep down inside I needed to do that. I didn't want to -- I told myself I wouldn't treat myself as a Tour player. I still wanted to treat myself as a husband and a father, and I still have a job. So that's kind of my priorities. But it was good to have that extra week off.
Then flew here Sunday, and this place is amazing. I mean, PGA should be pretty pumped about having this venue. It is a big golf course. It's really -- reminds me a little bit more of like a U.S. Open. I haven't played in that many, but it kind of feels like it because it's such a big golf course. But sensational clubhouse, everything about this place so far has been great.
Q. I was going to ask you about that. Any memories of playing Congressional in the past or watching big championships here?
JASON CARON: Yeah, I've watched them. I never played here back when I was playing. I know obviously some of the guys that have won here in the past, but you see the clubhouse, and I think that's what makes this place memorable. It almost looks like maybe it should be in California or something, especially looking back this way. But always remember that American flag. It's tough not to love that. But no, I've never played it. First time was yesterday, and it was a lot of fun out there.
Q. So first impressions? What do you think is going to be the key here?
JASON CARON: Well, the wind yesterday was brutal. If we had a tournament here yesterday, the scores would have been really, really high. The greens are like cement hard. You couldn't even hold a sand wedge hitting from 100 yards in. It really was that firm. Conditions are supposed to change starting tomorrow. I think that could be for the good.
Again, I think there's a lot of great players here, but we are still senior players, so having the golf course yesterday I think was maybe a touch too hard in my opinion. But I think it's going to be a heck of a test whoever does come out on top.
Q. When you sat down with the folks at Mill River and with Liz and you had a discussion, this is how '25 is going to unfold, has it been kind of how you envisioned?
JASON CARON: Besides my play, yeah. I didn't expect to play so well so early. But yeah, the president, my GM, Liz, we sat down the four of us, talked about what the scenarios could be. I told them, I don't expect to play every week, but I'd like to play in some. We only changed one event on the calendar. They just happened to hit right where they should be.
We had a pro member-guest two weeks ago, and it got rained out. I decided to take the next week off anyways, and we had the pro member-guest last Friday. So things happen for a reason I believe and that actually was a perfect scenario for us at the club.
But going forward, there's only one big event that's going to come up that I won't be able to play, I don't think, and that's going to be Bridgestone because we do have a two-day member-guest. I feel like I should be at the club then, but let's see what they say. I know it's another major, but I feel like I probably should be at the club that week.
Q. Do you see this as having two full-time jobs or two really busy part-time jobs?
JASON CARON: Three full-time jobs: A dad, a husband, and then I've got this job and then I have the job at Mill River as the head golf professional. I have such a great staff, and someone mentioned that to me before. They said, how is it going around, traveling, playing, and being a head golf professional. I said, listen, you're only as good as your staff is, and I have a great staff at Mill River. I feel confident that they can get the job done while I'm out here trying to compete and play against these great players.
It's a challenge. I get phone calls even yesterday, this morning. But I can handle all that stuff. The bookwork is a little tough when you get home. You've got to catch up and make payments and that kind of stuff. But I try to plan in advance, and it's been -- it's still a lot of fun. Like I said, I love to compete. That's something I love to do. To be able to say that I play on the Champions Tour is pretty amazing.
Q. The course is already playing long. I don't know what you were hitting into the long par-4s during practice. We're going to get some rain, too. What do you expect is going to happen?
JASON CARON: Yeah, I think if the conditions are softer, it makes the fairways a touch bigger. Same with the greens. They make them a little bit softer. It's okay if you have to hit long irons in. I think when the ball is bouncing around a little bit -- yesterday on 9 I hit a pretty decent tee ball for me up the right center. It was like 275 or something like that or 285 to the right bunker, and the ball bounced, bounced, bounced and kept going. I'm like, where is that thing going. The next thing, you get up there, it's stuck into the lip of the bunker. That's where it becomes challenging because if I get a day where it's we'll say a little softer, my ball is not going to get to that bunker. So it's fine. That fairway seems to be bigger.
So it'll be challenging for most of the guys out here, I think. But we'll just have to see what the weather happens. But the golf course, the venue is amazing.
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