Jake Card bags first pro victory, overcoming many obstacles with patience and persistence

No broadcast. No livestream. Just a digital scorecard update every few holes.

This is the reality for Jay Card Jr., who watches from Shelter Island as his son, Jay (Jake) Card III, competes in professional golf tournaments, refreshing the PGA TOUR app from thousands of miles away, hoping each new score update brings good news.

Last week, the Reporter brought very good news about Jake’s win at the PGA TOUR Americas Kia Open in Ecuador, the first professional victory of his career, and by all accounts, the first PGA win by an Islander. But while the headlines captured the outcome, the story behind the achievement, the years of hard work, the near-misses, and our small community, which formed Jake, deserves a closer look.

We sat down with Jake’s father, Jay Card Jr., to talk about where it all began, the years of persistence, and what it meant to watch his son battle through altitude, exhaustion, and pressure to bring home the win. A legendary Island athlete himself, Mr. Card is a Shelter Island School Sports Hall of Famer, lettering in three sports

“They had the scores wrong for a while,” Mr. Card said with a laugh, recalling watching and waiting for results form Ecuador. “He was even par according to the app, and then when he actually posted a score, he jumped to five under and up to fifth place.”

By the final round, Jake had climbed into the lead with a bogey-free, 9-under second round. The next day, walking 35 holes at nearly at an elevation close to 10,000 feet, he battled fatigue, a bogey, and a triple, but bounced back to clinch a 1-shot victory.

But to truly understand how he got there, you have to go back to Goat Hill, and Gardiner’s Bay Country Club, where a 7-year-old Jake joined the junior golf program a year early under the watchful eye of legendary teaching professional Bob DeStefano.

“Bob’s responsible for the game he’s got,” his father said. “Jake learned the work-hard, play-hard mindset right here on the Island.”

After earning his red card at Gardiner’s Bay — club privileges earned by shooting 1-over on the club’s 17th and 18th holes — Jake became a regular at summer tournaments on the East End. But his path to pro golf wasn’t straightforward. Despite his talent, he received no offers to play in college. So he walked on.

That college experience was rocky. Even after being told by his college coach that team spots were limited due to “pressure” from trustees’ families, Jake stayed ready. When disciplinary actions and injuries opened up a few roster spots, he stepped in and finished top-two for his team in every event of the spring season. Despite his performance, he wasn’t asked back.

His father likens it to a Michael Jordan moment: a slight that never left him, one he used as fuel. “Hopefully that coach sees Jake’s name in a headline this week,” Mr. Card said. Despite the setbacks and the cycle of highs and lows, Jake responded with relentless grind.

He worked at premier clubs in Florida,such as Jupiter Hills and The Dye Preserve, learning the ins and outs of professional golf operations while sneaking in practice and amateur events. Eventually he earned his first professional check. $5.17 — “Didn’t even cover the gas to get there,” his father joked. Still, he pressed on.

Eventually, Jake made the decision to stop working and commit fully to his game, realizing that he couldn’t keep up with players who had the luxury of training full-time. “He was working, grinding, and still trying to compete,” Mr. Card said. “But the reality was, the guys he was up against weren’t working. They were just playing. Something had to give.”

Jake first earned conditional status on the Korn Ferry Tour — the developmental tour for the United States PGA Tour. That placed him outside the top 40 players, not enough to guarantee the following year. When it came time to re-qualify, he came up just short. During a second attempt, he was forced to disqualify himself after a scorecard error.

With the Korn Ferry path temporarily blocked, Jake turned to PGA TOUR Americas. At Q-School — or Qualifying School, a series of tournaments held annually to provide golfers with a path to gain playing privileges on professional tours — he shot 24-under over four rounds to become the event’s low qualifier. That earned him full status for the tour’s entire 2025 season, and granted him entry into all 10 events across Latin America and Canada. He now had a chance to compete consistently and accumulate points toward regaining Korn Ferry eligibility.

And while this recent win in South America earned him around $40,000, it’s a drop in the bucket when it comes to covering the cost of travel, caddies, rental cars, and training support.

“He’s got a strength coach, a physical trainer, a putting coach, a mental coach. It’s a full team effort,” his father said. “And there’s no safety net. If you miss the cut, you’re out. No check.”

So, why keep going? “Because there’s nothing like competing,” Mr. Card said. “You don’t want to go through life wondering, ‘What if?’ This is what he wants to do. And we’re behind him 100%.”

Shelter Island is behind him, too. “Everybody here is really proud,” his father said. “It means a lot to everyone on the Island to see ‘Shelter Island’ listed next to his name on a leader board. That’s his home. That’s where it all started.” Though his career takes him across continents, he returns home when he can, often between tournament stretches or during qualifying events.

Coach Bob DeStefano’s impact, in particular, looms large. “Bob gave so many kids on Shelter Island the gift of golf,” Mr. Card said. “He expected you to work hard, but he also made the game fun. Jake bought into that early, and I think it stuck with him.”

Now, with a trophy in hand and momentum on his side, Jake carries on to his next tour event. He’s expected to attempt a U.S. Open qualifying in May. A top-10 finish on the PGA TOUR Americas by season’s end would secure him full status on next year’s Korn Ferry Tour. But there’s another path, too. If he wins two more events this season, he’ll automatically earn a Korn Ferry card.

His father recalled one moment from the recent tournament that summed it all up. Due to a late tee time, Jake ended up on the toughest stretch of the course just as a storm was rolling in. “The weather was horrible,” Mr. Card said. It was just another instance of good breaks, bad breaks, and everything in between. But Jake’s approach never changed.“The advice I always give him is simple: Stay patient,” his father said.

Fatherly advice taken. And a championship trophy to prove it.