Caron, Connelly Eiswerth & Polland Combine for Memorable Weekend on Pro Tours

A playoff for the title, a top 10 finish and a second consecutive made cut on the PGA TOUR.

That was the weekend for PGA of America Golf Professionals Jason Caron, Stephanie Connelly Eiswerth and Ben Polland, who each won the 2024 PGA Professional Player of the Year award earlier this year. It's perhaps the first time all three award winners have competed on the same weekend . . . and most certainly the most successful weekend of play by a trio in Association history.

We'll start with Caron, the Head Professional at Mill River Club in Oyster Bay, New York, whose performances at the Senior PGA Championship as Low Club Professional and down the stretch on the PGA TOUR Champions earned him full-time status this year.

He's put it to good use so far, and came extremely close to an improbable victory at the Cologuard Classic in Tucson on March 9, losing in the first playoff hole to Stephen Alker who made birdie to Caron's par. To get there, though, Caron had to birdie the final three holes at La Paloma Country Club, including this beauty on 18:

The birdie got him to 12-under and into the clubhouse lead at the time. Alker, who is the 2022 Senior PGA Champion, also birdied the final hole to get to 12-under and the two finished with matching 66s for a playoff. Although Caron would come up just short in overtime, he's certainly trending in the right direction: the second-place finish in Arizona is his third made cut in three starts and, even more impressive, his second top 10 finish of a young year.

Moving eastward to Florida, Stephanie Connelly Eiswerth was also getting herself in the mix at the Epson Tour's Atlantic Beach Classic.

Connelly Eiswerth, who's a PGA / LPGA Teaching Professional at San Jose Country Club in Jacksonville, was invited to play in the tournament via sponsor's exemption and made the most of it. Eiswerth got slowly better over three rounds, going 75-71-69 to finish in a tie for 10th place with Kelly Tan and Minji Kang.

Meanwhile in Puerto Rico, Ben Polland continued his consistency in making PGA TOUR cuts, playing the weekend for the second straight time after a down-to-the-wire cut-making birdie two weeks ago at the Cognizant Classic.

Polland, who's the PGA Director of Golf at Shooting Star in Jackson, Wyoming, won the 2024 PGA Professional Championship last year, and with the victory, was granted six TOUR exemptions. He used his second one at Grand Reserve Golf Club and the Puerto Rico Open, firing 71-67 to make the cut. He ultimately finished tied for 70th, right around the same finish of a T-62 at PGA National the week prior.

All this to say . . . playing golf, and playing it well competitively, are a core part of what PGA of America Golf Professionals do. Whether it's at the PGA Championship, a Section Championship or out on the professional tours like Caron, Connelly Eiswerth and Polland showcased this past weekend, a love for the game really never leaves.

It only gets stronger.