There are quick learners, and there is Mike Basco, the 16-year-old junior from Cave Creek Cactus Shadows who gave up a promising baseball career this past year for an unknown future in golf.
       Unknown, that is, until last weekend, when Basco captured the Junior Boys State Golf Championship at Forest Highlands Golf Club in Flagstaff. Not bad for a teen-ager who hit his first drive and sank his first putt just two years ago.
       Even more mind-boggling, Basco had to qualify for the tournament, which features 60 of the top juniors in Arizona. AND, at first glance, he didn’t make the elite 60-player field.
     “Actually, they took the top eight players (in qualifying) and I shot 74, which was no better than ninth,’’ Basco said. “So I’m walking to the parking lot, pretty upset with myself, and this kid comes running out of the clubhouse and yells, ‘Come back! You qualified!’
      “Well, I was shocked. I guess one kid had qualified who had not played in the required three (Junior Golf Association of Arizona) events, so he was ineligible and I was in.’’
      Given new life, Basco took the opportunity to the bank, edging Scottsdale’s heralded Nicholas Losole III by a single stroke on rounds of 73-72.
      “I guess I made the most of it,’’ Basco chuckled. “At the same time, I knew I had to step it up a bit (at the state tournament).’’
      That he did, as Basco held off Losole in a nail-biting duel down the stretch on Forest Highland’s nationally ranked Canyon Course. Losole held a two-shot lead going into the 15th hole, but a two-shot swing there and a birdie by Basco at the 16th hole swung both players’ fortunes. 
       “It was a real adventure,’’ said Basco, who carried a one-shot lead to the 18th tee. “Nick’s second shot ended up in the tall grass, and my third shot flew the green, almost ending up on the ninth green, as those greens (No. 9 and No. 18) are kind of shared.
       “Then Nick made his 8-foot putt for par, and I had to make mine from 6 feet, which I did. That was an incredible feeling: having to make a putt to win my first tournament.’’
       Sean Ferris, the assistant executive director of the JGAA, noted that it was the first time in the tournament’s 11-year history that a qualifier had won the event.
        “This really indicates that the quality of play within the JGAA is incredibly strong,’’ Ferris said. “At any tournament, any golfer has a shot at winning the event.’’
        Actually, not all junior golfers have the genes and natural athletic ability that the 6-foot-3, 225-pound Basco possesses. How else do you explain such a meteoric rise?
        “I took up golf when I was 14, and actually played baseball all the way through my sophomore season,’’ Basco reported. “It’s really been kind of surreal, because when I was a freshman I made the varsity baseball team, had a 6-1 pitching record, and got the last out at the state tournament when we won the (Class 4-A Division II) title.
        “My golf resume really isn’t big at all, but I love the game. This past year, I had kind of had an OK regular season, and then things took off, as I finished third at the regional and third at state. So winning the JGAA’s state championship last week, hopefully that will make me a better player.’’
         The straight-shooting Basco gives all the credit for his quick learning curve to his father, Frank, who taught him the game, and to noted instructor Scott Watkins for helping him refine it. But Frank Basco said the real story is his exceptional son.
        “Mike may give me credit, but I think he just has a lot of natural ability and he works hard,’’ said the former assistant pro at La Costa Resort & Spa who works for PING. “As an example: a lot of kids like to watch TV or play video games, but not Mike. He has always had to have a ball around, and he’s had a lot of success in other sports, mostly baseball. . . .
        “I remember when he took up golf, he didn’t know how to take a divot. But he’s got soft hands from playing third base, and being a big kid, he can hit it a long way.’’
          How far Mike Basco goes remains up in the air, but chances are the future will include a ball with dimples rather than one made of leather.
          “Baseball is over,’’ he said with perhaps just a tinge of regret in his voice. “From here on out, I’m focusing on golf, planning to play a lot, and hopefully I’ll get good enough so I can play in college.’’