Cain More Than Able to Play Senior Tour : Golf: Stockbroker never competed on regular tour, but he’s holding his own with 50-and-older set.

As a stockbroker, John Paul Cain worried about such things as the market dropping 500 points. In his new profession, he worries about dropping five-foot putts.

Cain, who did not become a professional golfer until after his 52nd birthday, is having the time of his life on the Senior PGA Tour.

At 53, a rookie on the 50-and-older tour, Cain will play in the Tournament of Champions at La Costa, which starts the new professional golf season Jan. 4. The field is composed of tournament winners only and is the only event in which regular tour players and seniors play on the same course at the same time.

Although he finished only 15th in the 1988 qualifying tournament, Cain was a Monday qualifier before winning the Greater Grand Rapids Open with a 10-under-par 203 the weekend of July 14-16. He called it just about the most exciting thing that ever happened to him.

Cain, a stockbroker in Houston for 30 years before trying pro golf on the advice of several members of the senior tour, shot a five-under 66 on the final round, winning from three shots back. He joined Larry Mowry as the only players to win a tournament after qualifying on a Monday.

He is a slender, gray-haired man with a slight trace of a stomach. Although he is only 5-feet-10 and weighs about 150, he hits the ball a long way. When he putts well, he can play with anyone.

“I have exceeded expectations,” Cain said. “I just wanted to find out if I could compete on the senior tour. My goal was to qualify for a few tournaments and make a respectable showing. I did not anticipate winning a tournament. It was a fantastic feeling.

“You can’t believe the fun I’m having. I don’t feel any pressure out here. But when you have a $50-million portfolio and are in the market with other people’s money, that’s pressure.

“I wasn’t in the market just playing with rich guys’ money. Some of my investors were putting all their savings in my hands.”

Becoming a professional golfer, however, was not just a whim. And even after urging from Gay Brewer, Bob Rawlings, Butch Baird and others to give it a shot, Cain couldn’t make the decision by himself.

“When I really decided I wanted to try during the 1988 U.S. Senior Open at Medinah (near Chicago), I sat down and talked to my wife,” Cain said. “Our two daughters are grown up, so that wasn’t a problem. Carol told me to go for it. Next, I had to talk to Smith Barney, the company I worked for, and my clients.

“Smith Barney made me an independent contractor so that I could give golf a try. I’ve turned over a majority of my clients to my business partner. None of the clients thought I should not give golf a try.”

Money wasn’t a factor. Cain had done well as a broker. From his business, he has a six-figure income.

“I wasn’t in this for money,” he said. “It wasn’t an ego trip. Or maybe it was. I was out to see if I could compete. I have answered that to my satisfaction.”

By winning at Grand Rapids, Cain earned an exemption from qualifying for a year. He wound up his rookie season with more than $140,000, which put him 30th on the money list and made him eligible for all tour events next year.

“Now, you can see why it’s so much fun,” Cain said. “Just think, I’m out here playing with Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Bob Charles and other famous golfers. Isn’t it something?

“If I didn’t learn anything else, I learned that you can’t be too prepared. Before I went to qualifying school, I was spending maybe 10 to 15 hours a week on the golf course. These guys spend all their time working on their game. You aren’t going to compete with Chi Chi Rodriguez and Orville Moody by being halfway prepared.”

When he was at Texas Tech, Cain competed in amateur events with Don Massengale, Baird and other top Texas golfers. He briefly toyed with the idea of turning pro.

“But in the late 1950s, Palmer, the leading money winner, was earning about $32,000,” Cain said. “I had worked as a stockbroker in the summers while at Texas Tech and I knew I could make more money than that.”

Cain won the Texas Amateur, competed in four U.S. Opens and 11 U.S. Amateurs, but it was not until he began qualifying for the U.S. Senior Open that he started thinking seriously about trying to make it on the mushrooming tour.

“Although I didn’t make it at qualifying school in 1988, I hit the ball as well as just about anyone,” Cain said. “I putted like a dog.

“Then came the breakthrough at Grand Rapids. I think there was some resentment at first when an amateur joined the tour. But when I proved I could play, I didn’t notice any.

“I went into the final round at Grand Rapids three strokes behind. I shot a 31 on the front side to take the lead. Then, my putter, which had been so hot all week, failed me. I three-putted twice in a row.

“I was fortunate to be playing with an old friend, Bruce Crampton. He gave me encouragement, saying I could birdie some holes ahead.”

“You can’t imagine how the win felt. One of the first thoughts was that I wouldn’t have to qualify on Monday anymore.

“Also, it made me eligible for the Tournament of Champions. Even if I play poorly at La Costa, I will start the year making a payday.”

And for at least another year, the stock market will have to wait.