CARLY BOOTH BETTER AT 15

THAN MICHELE WIE WAS,

SAYS ARIZONA COACH

MIKE MALASKA

FROM THE EAST VALLEY TRIBUNE, ARIZONA
By Bill Huffman
By the time Carly Booth was 15, she had conquered pretty much all of her beloved Scotland when it came to girls golf.
In fact, the lovely lass who hails from the village of Comrie near the Scottish Highlands already had taken her game to the next level with her victory earlier this year in the European Young Masters.
With the help of her Mesa, Arizona-based instructor, Mike Malaska, Booth, who is still just 15, has turned her attention to a new arena — America.
Booth will get a chance to prove she is “the next Michelle Wie,’’ as Malaska insists, when the 37th annual Joanne Winter Arizona Silver Belle Championship takes place Friday through Sunday at Hillcrest Golf Club in Sun City.
“America is lots of fun. I like it a lot,’’ said Booth, who is attending Mesa Red Mountain High School and living with the Malaskas, a family that includes Mike’s 17-year-old daughter, Ashley, who is also a talented teen golfer (pictured right above with Carly).

“The last tournament I played in was in Dubai in October. So this one (the Silver Belle) will be my first real tournament in the States,” Booth said.
Booth was "discovered" by Dick Hyland, the president of Scottsdale-based Lyle Anderson Golf. Hyland was at one of Anderson’s foreign properties, the Dundonald Course at Loch Lomond in the heartland of Scotland, when he witnessed Booth’s victory at the Duke of York Girls’ Championship.
“She was only 14 at the time, but I noticed almost right away that this little girl was quite a player,’’ Hyland said.
“While I was there, I also met her father, Wally, who was a former wrestling champion and coach, and he filled me in on Carly’s quick progress in golf, how she had once worked with (golf instructor David) Leadbetter and how she wanted to get more out of her game."
So when Hyland returned Stateside, he told Anderson and Malaska about Carly Booth. All three concurred that she should come to Arizona and learn under Malaska, play and practise at Anderson’s Superstition Mountain Golf and Country Club in the East Valley and ultimately seek out the best competition in the world.
“She is extremely capable, and her dad has taught her how to win,’’ Hyland said. “Carly’s not just a great player at age 15, she’s a great kid to be around, too.’’
Malaska certainly thinks so, and he’s worked with some talented players such as Sydnee Michaels, Margarita Ramos, Julie Yang, Daffodil Sanchez and his own daughter, Ashley, whose game is so strong that she gave up a stellar softball career for a golf scholarship to the University of Arizona.
“I’ve watched all the girls play, and I’ve watched Michelle (Wie) play, too,’’ Mike Malaska said. “All I can say is, Carly is a better player at 15 than Michelle was at 15.
“Carly has a better short game and is comparable off the tee. But it’s no contest from 50 yards and in. Carly is much better. And Carly has those 'intangibles’ you can’t teach, like a big heart and a bulldog personality.’’
At 5ft 6in, Booth is shorter than Wie, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing, Malaska said.
“She’s a lot stronger than Michelle, and she’s got the looks that could rival Natalie Gulbis.”
Both attributes could help her in the no-apologies marketing world.But Booth is much more humble when discussing her potential.
Sure, she won her first tournament at age 11, once shot a 9-under-par 64 and has even made a couple of holes-in-one, “but none in competition just yet.’’ As for how many titles she has compiled, “I quit keeping track,’’ she said with a laugh.
Certainly, there is no pressure at the Silver Belle, which is open to girls and young women ages 13 to 23.
“I’ve played in more ladies’ tournaments than girls’ tournaments, so I’m sure I can handle it,’’ Booth said.
Down the road looms the big carrot, as Booth hopes to qualify in March for the LPGA Safeway International at her “home-away-from-home course.’’
Malaska said Booth told him she would love to go head-to-head with Wie in the qualifier at Superstition Mountain, with the winner earning the spot in the tournament.
Carly, however, is way too focused to toss that challenge to the media.“I’m going to try the qualifier, and if I can shoot a decent round that would be great,’’ she said. “But as far as great expectations, I don’t really think about that. I’m just myself. I play golf, and I have fun playing golf.’’
Fortunately, it’s still that simple for a young girl who just might be a budding superstar.