Golf pro anxious to get back in swing of things
STACEY M. EWERT
Staff Writer
"I wasn't too focused on golf in high school or college because I wanted to get an education, even though I hoped I wouldn't need it."
Just a few years later, Jonathan Kaye is reluctantly facing the possibility of choosing a second career much sooner than he expected.
Kaye, a 26-year-old Phoenix resident, began his stint on the Professional Golfers' Association tour in 1995. A shoulder injury bothered him all season and forced him to sit out for several months.
After surgery in February of 1996, doctors told him he would not be able to swing for six months, Kaye says, but "the shoulder felt so good at five months, I went out and won the Colorado Open."
He says this tournament was especially important to him because he graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder - where he was an academic All Big Eight his senior year - and he had spent his college summers playing golf in the state.
Kaye also finished in the money in seven other 1995 events, including a second place finish in the Quad City Classic at Coal Valley, Ill.
However, he had not seen the end of his shoulder problems. "I got a little overzealous and cut back on my rehab," he recalls.
In 1996, he entered the Phoenix Open, the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic (he finished 41st) and the Nortel Open in Tucson before feeling too much pain to play again. He had his second reconstructive shoulder surgery at the end of December and is now undergoing physical therapy four times a week, hoping to feel well enough to play by the Masters Tournament the second week in April.
"I am pretty much worthless right now. It is no fun sitting on the bench for two years," he says. "Hope is all that keeps me going right now."
Kaye is working out, practicing putting and recently spending time at the Phoenix Open dreading telling the long story over and over of why he isn't out there playing. "I don't know how to shorten it," he jokes.
He is also helping his parents Craig and Ellen Dean with their business, Miracle Mile Deli at Park Central Mall in Phoenix. He says his parents, who attend Beth El Congregation, have been a major influence in his life, and he says he feels fortunate because he has had the freedom to pursue his dreams, such as a professional golfing career.
Kaye also enjoys spending time with Jennifer Sweeney, his girlfriend of four years, who caddies for him on the tour.
"I don't get as lonely on the road because I've always got a friend there," Kaye explains. "She was with me the last 12 events when I was making all the money."
Sweeney must be good luck for him, because his winnings total almost $200,000 so far in just two partial seasons - not bad for a guy with almost no formal golf training.
Kaye picked up the game from his great-grandfather, who owned a course, his grandparents and his father. He took a few lessons when he was young and a few more in college, but "played and hung out at the golf course and learned more by trial and error," he says.
He says he decided to try professional golf because "I didn't want to grow up and see all my friends that I played with out there making tons of money and having a great time without having given it a try."
His aspirations are still to play golf for 25 years and end up on the senior tour.
"I don't want to make plans for what if I can't play again," he says, but if forced to confront that issue, he talks about getting a job in the golf industry or getting his friends together to start a business.
For now, his priority is getting back on the tour to give Tiger Woods a run for his money - shoulder permitting.
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