They were Massachusetts kids who shared a passion for golf when they met one another nearly 25 years ago at the Abacoa Golf Club in Jupiter, Fla. Jason Caron, he of the Cape Cod roots, had his Korn Ferry Tour card, and Mark Carens of Wellesley, a lad who had given up on his dream to play professionally but not his desire to be involved in the game.
“Mark was working as a caddie at the Abacoa Club and I said, ‘Hey, why don’t you come out on Tour with me?” said Caron.
Carens asked if he could have a days to think about.
Only kidding. Truth is, barely had Caron finished his question when Carens blurted out, “Yeah, why not?”
We’d like to say a couple of stars were born at that moment but that would be hyperbole. Yet, it was a notable juncture of a beautiful friendship because should you want a couple of guys who represent how splendidly fascinating is this game of golf, meet Jason Caron and Mark Carens.
Similar, their names and their utter love of golf.
In another lifetime, they were . . . well, maybe not phenoms, but they did take home some trophies. In 1993 Carens won the Boston Open, then he successfully defended the next year. And Caron in 1995 won the Holiday Inn Express Hilton Head Championship.
Major championships? Definitely not. They were, however, positive accomplishments that kept Carens and Caron pointed forward – at least for a while.
Play competitively long enough and you will have countless chances to take an exit ramp from this love affair. It is a game of numbers, golf is, so here are the digits to tell you how easy it would have been to say farewell and numbers that tell you how deep a man’s passion goes.
For Caron, in the two years he had his PGA Tour card (2000 and 2003) he missed 39 cuts in his 58 starts and earned just $259,402.
For Carens, the numbers that are telling are 11 ½ and 757 – as in the hours driven and the miles covered from Charlotte, N.C., to Mathews, La., where he had promised another caddie, Ted Scott, that he’d caddie for him in a Monday qualifier for the Zurich Classic (before it was a team event).
“I used to try and pre-qualifier, just to see if a miracle could happen and I’d get in my hometown event,” said Scott, a Louisiana native. Bubba Watson, for whom Scott caddied back then, gave his blessing. Carens, his good friend, did even more; he drove through the night just to offer physical and emotional support.
“And he was so positive,” said Scott. “I actually had no chance, but Mark had a different plan. He was so positive. ‘He would say, ‘You have the ability to make this,’ said Scott, who was always blown away by his mate’s spirit.
“He had me believing I could make it,” laughed Scott.
From 2-under through six, things fell apart in that Monday qualifier and Scott never did realize his dream of being included in the Zurich field. But what he did realize was this – Mark Carens was a dear friend, an uplifting presence, and a caddie whose passion for the game had prompted him to drive through the night. In Carens, Scott saw someone whose commitment to his craft would surely pay dividends.
Jason Caron with his wife, Liz, and daughters Caroline and Julia.
Now golf is a series of deflating low points and uplifting highs and Caron and Carens can attest to that.
They had enjoyed a scent of golf happiness in 2002 when Caron, with Carens on the bag, qualified for the U.S. Open at Bethpage. A few years later, Mark Carens married Jason Caron’s sister, Amanda, so the bond became even more unique. (They couple have since divorced but they share two beautiful children, Mika and Luke.)
Up and down goes the golf journey. Caron experienced a long stretch of mediocre play that prompted him to leave Tour golf. Disappointing, for sure, but when he met and married former LPGA competitor Liz Janangelo there was a serious uptick in their golf world, especially with the addition of daughters Caroline and Julia.
For Carens, there were years when the golf bag felt heavy, when the results weren’t hugely successful, when cuts were not made. Tough sledding. But there have been moments of brightness, too, three PGA Tour wins including The Players Championship with Si Woo Kim in 2017 and the Valero Texas Open with J.J. Spaun in 2022.
But for all the new chapters and all the roads with potholes, Caron and Carens have remained friends. That each is currently riding a wonderful patch of smooth sailing is a beautiful thing.
For Caron, his world as a very successful and extremely happy club pro (Mill River Club in Oyster Bay, N.Y.) took an unexpected, though deliriously happy, turn last year. He qualified for the Senior PGA Championship, fared well, and rolled that into nine other starts on the PGA Tour Champions. He piled up $634,243 in prize money, earned his full status for ’25 and just last week lost a playoff to Steven Alker in the Cologuard Classic.
The good times roll on and Caron explains the positive mindset that sounds simple. “I just try to remain balanced. On the golf course I just try to let it happen. I know I don’t have to be perfect.”
If that sounds consistent with his old friend Mark Carens that’s because the veteran caddie made a quiet comment in crunch time that earned him good press from the national media. Standing beside J.J. Spaun, whose latest solid effort had him in contention to win The Players Championship, Carens late in Sunday’s fourth round reminded his man that it wasn’t about where Rory McIroy stood (he was finished at 12-under).
“Let’s stay in the moment,” Carens said to Spaun, for whom he started working in June of 2021.
Spaun collected his thoughts, made gut-check pars at the 17th and 18thholes, and earned a playoff spot beside McIlroy Monday morning.
OK, so the playoff didn’t go very well. Spaun made par at the par-5 16th to fall one-behind in a three-hole aggregate thanks to a McIlroy birdie, then he tried to chip an 8-iron onto the back of the green at the 130-yard island green 17th. It carried through the wind too far. Splash.
Game, set, match.
Unless, that is, you are a dear friend, a mentor of sorts, and a guy who has tremendous perspective. Like Caron, who flew Sunday night to Newport, Calif., to prepare for this week’s PGA Tour Champions stop, the Hoag Classic. When he was watching the three-hole playoff, Caron felt enormous pride for Carens and as an underdog himself he could identify with the unheralded Spaun.
“I just texted Mark,” said Caron. “You have to look at the big picture, I told him J.J. has had a hell of a season. Focus on that.”
Bingo on Spaun, who is easy to embrace. In just three months, Spaun has recorded two second-place finishes, a third, and a share of 15th. Working beautifully with Carens, the 34-year-old Spaun has jumped to No. 25 in the Official World Golf Rankings.
There was a time early in his PGA Tour caddie days when Mark Carens was notable for frequently running with a 40-pound golf bag on his back. Fans thought he might have been some sort of health nut, but the truth is, Carens worked for James Driscoll, an all-world speed walker, and the caddie knew what he had to do to keep up.
Running with a golf bag strapped over his shoulder or driving 11 ½ hours through the night, Carens has clearly met the challenge. So, too, has Caron, who spent part of his Monday morning working on QuickBooks, a software program that helps him keep organized with invoices for his day job at Mill River.
Ah, this passion for golf provides such an endearing journey.
