Nate Tyler

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Rather than revel in his Arizona Amateur championship for a few days, or even a few hours, Nate Tyler climbed into a rental car late Saturday morning to begin a 14-hour drive to San Francisco.

You know the dreaded route: Buckeye, Blythe, Indio, yeech.

"We can't afford to fly or to stay in the host hotel at the U.S. Amateur," said Tyler's caddie, Matt Pridans. "So we're driving all day, staying at a friend's house and sleeping on air mattresses."

No wonder so many college golfers turn pro the moment their NCAA eligibility expires.

But when the Sabino High School grad became the ninth golfer in Tucson history to win one of the 83 Arizona Amateur championships, he did not begin a countdown to the PGA Tour Qualifying School or seek an equipment sponsor.

Nate Tyler's two goals, in no particular order, are to win this week's U.S. Amateur at the San Francisco Olympic Club and to earn his UA degree in December.

"I'm not turning pro until I get my degree," said Tyler, 25. "I'm so close, after such a long struggle, that I don't want anything to detract from getting that degree."

Tyler rolled through six days (and eight rounds) of golf at the Tucson Country Club last week by shooting an aggregate 44 under par. That is not a typo. He capped his superb performance by routing five-time champion Ken Kellaney of Phoenix 7 and 5 early Saturday.

Kellaney, who has played against (and defeated) Arizona's leading amateur golfers for three decades, was so impressed he termed Tyler's performance "awesome" and said that Tyler had a chance to make an impact at the U.S. Amateur.

A few years ago, this entire scenario would have seemed preposterous.

"Nathan's story is one of the greatest I've seen at the UA," said Arizona men's golf coach Rick LaRose. "He has come so far, overcome so many obstacles, that you almost have to pinch yourself to believe it."

After a standout career at Sabino, Tyler was not initially admitted to the UA. He was forced to take nine credit hours at Pima Community College to become eligible. And after a review, the UA ruled even that was not enough. He was sent back to PCC for a second semester.

Once he was officially added to the UA roster, he faced daily competition from LaRose's typical lineup of future pros and foreign stars. Just getting into the UA's regular rotation was a considerable triumph.

Pridans, who helped to coach Tyler at Sabino and has been a longtime confidant and friend, said that Tyler's initial college goals were "to turn pro as soon as possible."

Somewhere over the ensuing four years, things changed.

Tyler began to play with composure and confidence. He began to understand the importance of completing his education. He interrupted his golf career by going to summer school this year and last. The sacrifices have paid off.

"Nate didn't always see eye to eye with Rick," said Pridans. "And during that time, all it would take to ruin him was one bad hole. That's it. He was a mental wreck. He'd throw clubs. Meltdown. He has come so far."

Tyler's performance at the Arizona Amateur was nearly flawless. He won six matches without a hitch, one of them an 8-and-6 victory over Armen Dirtadian, one of the most accomplished amateurs in Tucson history.

It is now a class that includes Tyler.

Often obscured by what has become one of the best collections of young golfers in Tucson history — a super class that includes this week's U.S. Amateur entrants Michael Thompson, Tyler Neal and David McDaniel, and former college hotshots Josh Wilks, Ryan Witz, Ben Kern, Brian Prouty and U.S. Open veteran Jake Rogers — Tyler has climbed to the top.

Winning the Arizona Amateur is as good as it gets in this golf frontier.

The first Tucson champion, in 1946, was Charlie Lamb, who watched some of the proceedings last week at the TCC. The next was Ed Updegraff, in 1951, a four-time champ who had the honor Saturday of presenting Tyler with the Arizona Golf Association's championship trophy.

Tyler used to be a caddie at Tucson Country Club, carrying golf bags so that, as with all TCC caddies, he was granted TCC playing privileges each Monday. It all came full circle Saturday morning.

"Because I chose to play here this week, I'll only get to play a practice round at one of the two courses at the Olympic Club and not get much sleep," he said. "But that's OK. I wouldn't change anything now."