Aussie! Aussie! Aussie!

Grant Booth held a one-shot lead as he stood on the 1st tee at Mesa Country Club in Mesa, Ariz., on Wednesday. It was the final round of the 80th Arizona Open, the temperature was forecast to hit 107 degrees, and a $24,000 first-place check was on the line. Only those who could stand the heat had made the two-round cut, and Booth, a 27-year-old Aussie, was about to set the course ablaze. 

I stood next to Booth on the tee in the tournament’s final pairing along with Jake Younan, an assistant pro at Mesa Country Club. Younan, 36, also from Australia, played professionally on PGA Tour China until 2016. Back then, he felt a world away and was playing poorly when he missed his son’s first birthday.

“I was like, this sucks,” Younan said. “I packed up, went home and it was like ripping a Band-Aid off. It was a relief.” 

Younan immediately landed the job as the head pro at The Rim Golf Club in Payson, Ariz., which allowed him to compete in pro-ams and a handful of Southwest PGA section events. He won the 2018 Arizona Open at Troon Country Club. Younan opened with a 9-under 61 in 2018, besting PGA Tour winners Kirk Triplett and Charlie Beljan, among others. But that was five years ago, an eternity to a club pro who spends more time folding shirts than hitting shots. 

“I hadn’t felt that way on the 1st tee in a long time,” Younan said about teeing it up this week. “It was cool to get those feelings back. I don’t do this anymore. It has been five years since I’ve felt that.” 

Younan had only played five rounds in July, and with minimal expectations, he opened with scores of 64 and 67. But knowing club members would be cheering him on during the final round gave him anxiety.  

“I slept fine last night but winning was the furthest thing from my mind,” he said. “I knew there would be some people out here watching, so I wanted to play well.”

If Booth was feeling any nerves, he didn’t show it. He was fresh off a successful Monday qualifier at the Korn Ferry Tour’s Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Wichita Open, where he made the cut. He followed that up with another successful Monday, qualifying into the PGA Tour’s Barracuda Championship, although he wasn’t around for the weekend. 

“I just got over the hurdle of Monday-qualifying for a Korn Ferry Tour event,” Booth said. “When I Monday’d into my first one, I shot 9 under that day and I was like, oh, that’s all it is. That was a big realization for me.”

Booth confidently hit a tight draw down the center of the fairway to start the final round of the Arizona Open. Younan and I hit our drives into the left trees. I had hoped to apply pressure to Booth early, but when his unwavering 187-yard 8-iron led to a birdie at the 2nd hole, I was the one feeling the squeeze. 

“The only thing I know with golf is anything can happen,” Booth said. “So I never at any point thought about anything else but what I was doing on that shot or that putt.”

Booth plays often with Taylor Montgomery, who is 50th in the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup standings, at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas. Montgomery leads the Tour in putting, and Booth has seen his friend win more than a few bets with his outstanding stroke. The two have taken on challengers for enough money to make Booth sweat, and it has helped his game. 

“Taylor and I don’t like going up against each other, but we like going up against other people,” Booth said. “He’s thrown me in the deep end a couple times with the games. There was a time when I would calculate how much I would lose on each hole. But you can’t play golf that way. I’ve been in some good games out there, and fortunately I came out on the good side of them.” 

Emerging victorious from pressure-packed money matches elevated Booth’s confidence. The long hours he has spent on the practice areas at Shadow Creek recently allowed him to focus on his process and avoid technical thinking. 

On the narrow 3rd hole, I hooked my tee shot out-of-bounds, giving Booth even more breathing room. Younan and I never pulled closer. Booth birdied the 4th, eagled the 5th and birdied the 6th, moving to 5 under for the round. Meanwhile, Younan and I were trying to steady ourselves as it became clear we were battling for second place. 

“I was trying not to screw up,” Younan said with a laugh. “I played it hole by hole. I know that's the worst way to play, but that’s how I played. I was just trying my best not to screw up.”

Booth continued his relentless assault on par. With Booth in the right trees and Younan and I perfectly positioned on the 10th hole, there was the potential for a two-shot swing. But Booth salvaged a par and never looked back. Booth and Younan were paired together in the first two rounds, and Younan knew his playing partner was unflappable. 

“After seeing him play for two days I knew he wasn’t going to make any mistakes,” Younan said. “When he was out of position he was always in a spot where he could get it in the middle of the green.”

While I continued to fight my swing, Younan began seeing his putting lines more clearly. He made back-to-back 20-footers on 13 and 14 and a 10-footer on 16. A birdie at the last moved him to 12 under, good enough to win the battle for second place and a $12,500 check. I finished at 10 under, in a three-way tie for third.

Booth tapped in a birdie putt at the last for a 61 and a seven-shot victory. His fiancee clapped joyfully as friends rushed onto the green and dumped cold beer on Booth’s steaming head. He was soaked and smiling while posing for pictures with the oversized winner’s check.

“Winning the Arizona Open is a big deal for me,” Booth said. “The way I did it for me is the stuff I’ll take a lot out of moving forward.”

The Booth wedding is set for Sept. 8, about a month before the first stage of PGA Tour Q school. He is slated to start his bid for a Tour card at Bear Creek Golf Club in Murrieta, Calif. 

I asked Younan whether this performance might inspire him to sign up for Q school and give his playing career one final shot.

“Absolutely not,” he said. “Not a chance. My hands have been shaking for three days, my heart rate was probably 220 on the 1st tee this morning. I don’t see myself doing that any time soon.”

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