Caron Cruises to Five-Shot LI Senior Open Win
Jason Caron
LAUREL, N.Y. (September 28, 2023) – Rounds of 71-70 at Laurel Links Country Club propelled Jason Caron of Mill River to a five-shot victory in the 2023 Long Island Senior Open Championship Sponsored by Steve Madden.
Despite not having played at the challenging Laurel Links prior to the championship, Caron bested a talented field and put the exclamation point on the victory in the final round with the event’s only sub-par score.
“I got it around the first day, got to see the lay of the land and I kind of jotted down some notes on where to go,” said Caron, 51. “I felt a lot more comfortable today hitting the golf ball. The greens were definitely speedier and I just kind of played solid golf today and had a nice run toward the end, so it was great.”
Caron entered the final round tied with Charlie Bolling of Engineers after both opened with even-par 71s on Wednesday.
While both opened with birdies on the par-5 first, Bolling made three bogeys across the opening nine while Caron added another birdie and two bogeys to carry a two-shot lead into the final nine holes.
Caron made bogey on the par-3 12th, but bounced back quickly with birdies on Nos. 14, 15 and 17 to extend his lead over Bolling, who made bogeys on Nos. 10 and 14.
Though Caron closed with bogey on the challenging par-4 finisher, he still cruised to a five-shot victory.
“I hit the ball great today and winning is tough no matter what tournament it is,” said Caron, who won the 2020 Long Island Open at Sands Point. “For me, I haven’t won in a couple years. I had a surgery on my elbow, so I’m kind of just getting back into it and I wanted to perform this year at some point. I’m glad that it happened today.”
Scott Ford of Glen Oaks claimed second place after rounds of 72-74, while Bolling – a past champion in the event – fell to third with a final round 76. Past champion Darrell Kestner finished solo fourth with rounds of 77-72 and Dave Scialabba of Meadow Brook locked up low amateur honors, finishing fifth with rounds of 73-77.
Jim Farrell of Hamlet, another past champion, carded the final round’s second lowest score with an even-par 71, rebounding from an opening 80 to finish sixth. Bob Rittberger, and amateurs Benjamin Jenkins of Gardiner’s Bay and Dennis Lynch of Baiting Hollow all tied for seventh at 10-over for the championship.