Long drive to the top

Her summer schedule doesn't show it, but there's more to Mieke Canan than her golf game.

Now that school has started, she's put her golf clubs aside and is already busy with volleyball practice for Antelope Union High. She's also started training two horses for the next Yuma County Fair. Plus there's that homework thing.

This girls never stops.

But for the last few months it's been nothing but fairways and greens at golf tournaments around the state, and the end result landed her the top prize in Arizona girls junior golf.

Accruing points in 14 of her 16 Junior Golf Association of Arizona tournaments this year - including four wins - Canan beat out Stephanie Kim by 75 points to earn the JGAA Player of the Year Award.

"I really wanted it last year. I was battling for it for a long time," Canan said. "This year I wasn't worried about it too much, I just wanted to focus on each tournament and see what happened. But once I got to [Arizona Junior Match Play Championship] I knew if I did good I should have a chance to win Player of the Year."

Canan, 16, was more than good at her final event of the summer, winning the two-day, four-match tournament with a 2 and 1 victory in the final. Her other wins came at the Tucson Conquistadores Spring Classic in March, and the Tucson City Junior Championship and the Kingman City Junior Championship in July. She also played in more tournaments than any other girls in her division.

"It was pretty hard being on the road so many times, and I got stressed out sometimes, but I had more fun this year too," she said. "Sometimes my mom and I would just go, but whenever (17-year old brother) Henry's with us it's more fun. He can always make me laugh, and that would help me."

After playing in the girls 15-18 division last year, Canan moved into the girls championship division to play against tougher opponents. But Canan said the biggest change to her game this year was her ability to block out the elements she couldn't control at tournaments.

"I think I was actually playing better last year, but I was always nervous  at the big tournaments and worried about how the other girls were playing," she said. "This year I just played golf. I was more focused on just making pars on every hole."

But Canan's internal focus for 18 holes did not carry over to the 19th hole, where she's made plenty of friends with her competitors, Kim being one of them.

"A couple years ago we went to the same coach in Phoenix, and this year I got to know her a lot better," Canan said. "We played the majority of the tournament together, and we'd eat together after and have fun together, and that what counts the most."

Canan's play on the golf course was nearly as consistent as her appearances at the JGAA events. Of her 29 rounds, 25 featured scores between 77 and 83, and she only made worse than double bogey on a handful of holes the entire time.

"We started working together around Christmas break, and our focus was getting her into the 70s and keeping her in the 70s," said Mark Croft, her coach. "When she's in the 70s, she plays very comfortably."

Canan said she was thankful for her family's support and their company during all her travels, and for Croft, who was always just a phone call away for swing tips.

"I'd be in Phoenix for a tournament and if something was going wrong on the practice range I'd call him and put my phone next to the ball," Canan said. "The other kids would look at me like, 'What are you doing?' but he seemed to know what was wrong just by hearing the shot."

Croft, who also coached Yuma's Dakin Banta, a two-time PGA Junior Player of the Year, said the next step in Canan's progression will come with her imagination and variety around the greens. Canan said she'll likely play in fewer events next summer to have more practice time and focus on the more prestigious tournaments in hopes of catching the attention of college recruiters.

"She'll show up at 8 in the morning and if I want to practice for three hours she'll practice for three hours, no complaints," Croft said. "She's so wiling to learn and gather more information and wants to get better."