Former school teacher shares lead, chases dream win on PGA Tour Champions - Golfweek
Jay Jurecic is trying to complete one of the great David over Goliath triumphs in golf in a long time.
The 56-year-old former school teacher and Monday qualifier seeks his first win on PGA Tour Champions in just his fourth start after shooting 65 at Minnehaha Country Club on Saturday to share the 36-hole lead at the Sanford International with past Masters champion Zach Johnson.
Jurecic birdied 18 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to post his career low on the senior circuit in just his 10th career round.
“That was probably the best feeling in golf I’ve had with the grandstands and to make that putt and finish strong like that was just a dream come true,” he said.
Jurecic is making his season debut on the Champions Tour. He earned a spot in the field via open qualifier, carding 5-under 66 en route to medalist honors at Bakker Crossing Golf Club on Monday. He looks to become the 16th open qualifier to win on PGA Tour Champions and first since Tommy Gainey at the 2025 Constellation Furyk & Friends.
For 21 years, Jurecic taught middle school math at West Iron County Public Schools in Iron County, Michigan, a town of 11,000, in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. He would spend his summers playing state opens and mini tour events. He resigned from his job at age 51 to chase his competitive pro golf dream. This week, he’s been following the advice of his sister to great effect through 36 holes.
“She’s like ‘why don’t you just focus for one second?’ And so, I’ve been trying to do this one-second focus and that’s what I’m trying to do,” he said.
Jurecic’s best finish entering this week was a T-54 at the 2025 Dick’s Open, which was his most recent start on the senior tour. He shot 61 to Monday qualify into this event in 2021 en route to finishing T-79. This time, he’ll play in the final group with Johnson, who shot 64 to tie him at 7-under 133 and seeks his fifth win on PGA Tour Champions in his 14th start. Hall of Famer Retief Goosen, former European Ryder Cupper Jamie Donaldson, and former Tour winner and Champions Tour rookie Ben Crane sit one stroke off the pace.
But there may be no better story than that of Jurecic, who never played high school or college golf and previously had only qualified for three Champions Tour starts in five years. Asked why it is so important for him to get to play with the likes of major winners Johnson, Stewart Cink and Padraig Harrington, Jurecic said, “I just want, especially all the people, like allthe students I’ve taught and the people at home just to realize to go after their dreams and just keep fighting.”
What a story it would be if this all-time underdog can beat all the Hall of Famers, past tour winners and Champions Tour stalwarts in the field. It would be one of the greatest triumphs in Champions Tour history.
