SONY OPEN
JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARBULLETIN.COM
Parker McLachlin will play in Nationwide Tour events in Panama, Australia and New Zealand in the coming weeks. He finished tied for 59th at Waialae yesterday.
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McLachlin set to see world
Parker McLachlin pulled his ball out of the 18th hole at Waialae Country Club, doffed his cap and smiled at the cheering crowd.
It was impossible to tell that he'd just shot 4 over par.
That's the way it's supposed to be, his former coach, Greg Nichols, said.
"You walk off that green, have the same look if you shot 65 or 75. It should be the same," Nichols said. "I'm proud of him. He did that again today."
Of course, McLachlin wasn't overjoyed with his 74 yesterday at the Sony Open. But it was still a great week for the 26-year-old Punahou graduate from Manoa.
A 59th-place tie and $10,914 paycheck from a PGA Tour event is a pretty good start of the year for a guy who had to claw his way into the tournament via a playoff in the Monday qualifier -- and another positive step for a professional golfer who had reason to seriously worry about his future in the game just a few years ago.
McLachlin, the only player from Hawaii (among seven entered) to make the cut, finished at 2 over for the tournament after narrowly missing birdie putts on the last three holes. He birdied all three on Saturday when he shot 5-under 65.
Another player might have tossed his putter into the nearest water hazard after yesterday's round. But not McLachlin, who is known for his even temper.
"I made a lot of good putts, a lot of good strokes, but nothing went in," he said. "It was a little bit windier, but no excuses. Just didn't make putts."
Still, McLachlin said the week is a good jumping-off point for the Nationwide Tour, for which he earned full-exempt status at Q-school.
After next week off, he goes to Panama for the year's first Nationwide event, followed by stops in Australia and New Zealand. He also received a sponsor's exemption for the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am next month.
"I'm really looking forward to traveling," he said. "Panama, Australia, New Zealand. Looking forward to seeing the world. I haven't been to any of those places."
McLachlin feels fortunate to be playing golf at all, considering the situation he was in four years ago after graduating from UCLA. That's when he made his biggest golf decision, and it had nothing to do with club selection.
He elected to undergo surgery for an old left wrist injury.
"I had to do a lot of thinking about what I wanted to do," McLachlin said.
Nichols, the former head pro at Waialae who is now general manager at Ko Olina, said his former pupil made the right choice.
"That was a tough decision to make. Because you either continue playing and risk further injury, or it's risky to take the time off, too, because he was right at the top of his game," Nichols said. "The only time Parker didn't get better was when he had to deal with that wrist injury. He had to play through a lot of pain every single tournament. Now you have to decide, go pro, or get the surgery. He made a good decision."
McLachlin said he didn't play for five months after the surgery. Nichols said McLachlin would be a full-fledged PGA Tour member by now if not for the wrist problem, which may have been caused by a high school volleyball injury.
"It set him back about a year and a half," Nichols said.
But McLachlin appears to be right on pace to become a regular participant at the game's highest level, Nichols said.
"He's immeasurably better," he said. "He's worked hard on his game -- not just his ball-striking, but his short game and his course management."
Chris McLachlin, Parker's father, credits Nichols and former Waialae assistant pro Scott Head for allowing McLachlin to work at Ko Olina and The Treetops Resort, in Gaylord, Mich.
As he did at Waialae as a teen, McLachlin worked odd jobs around the course.
"After his wrist injury, he wanted a place where he could come out and practice. But again, there's no free ride and he wanted to work his way," Nichols said. "He has all the talent in the world, but he's just one of the guys."
Yesterday, a large gallery of several hundred followed McLachlin, as he played with a former British Open champion for the second day in a row (David Duval on Saturday, Mark Calcavecchia yesterday).
He won't be among their likes on the Nationwide Tour, but he will be able to make his own schedule rather than be week to week as a PGA Tour bottom-feeder.
"I'll be able to rest when I want to rest, play when I want to play. I think it's going to be a real good situation," said McLachlin, who scrambled around last year on three mini-tours.
Chris McLachlin said Parker was "disappointed for about 20 minutes," after he missed the PGA Tour at Q-school.
"But then Greg called, Scott called, all telling him this would be way better."
Said Nichols: "He'll earn his way on. Parker's been successful at every step, from junior golf to high school golf, to collegiate golf, to mini-tour golf, now to Nationwide Tour."