He received coaching and training in the junior program developed by Georgia Golf Hall of Fame member Dan Nyimicz at Idle Hour Golf Club in Macon.

[1] Persons won the 1980 Georgia Junior Championship and was the runner-up to Sam Randolph at the 1985 U.S.

Persons played in a limited number of PGA Tour events in the 1980s.

At the 1990 Chattanooga Classic, he finished at 20-under-par 260 to defeat Richard Zokol by two strokes.

The tournament was held the same week as the NEC World Series of Golf where most of the Tour's top-tier players elected to compete.