RENO, NEV. » Defending champion Parker McLachlin chose a rather unconventional way to celebrate his first victory on the PGA Tour last summer at the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open. He decided to revamp his entire swing.

“;From the outside looking in people could say, 'Well, you just won. Why would you change?”;' McLachlin said before posting a 3-under-par 69 in windy conditions yesterday at Montreux Golf & Country Club.

“;'Your swing can't be that bad. You just won by seven shots.' Well, I would have won by 10 or 11 if I would have actually swung the golf club where I could hit more than four greens on 18 holes on Sunday,”; he said.

The 30-year-old Hawaii golfer tied the course record with a 62 in the second round a year ago then shot a final-round 74 to hold on and win at 18-under-par 270. He said it was the third time in his two years on tour at the time that he had led in the final round and he likely would have lost that one too if his short game and putting hadn't bailed him out.

“;With the performance that I had with my swing on Sunday last year, it just spoke to me. It said, 'You've got to make the change.' I want to be in contention six, seven, eight times a year and having a chance to win,”; he said.

McLachlin said he knew there must be more efficient way to swing the club on a consistent basis even when pressure is mounting.

“;So basically the day after this tournament ended was when I started looking for someone who could build a golf swing for me that would help get me in the Top 50 in the world. That's where I feel like I've got the potential to be. And so it's been a bit of a struggle this year. But this is the year that's going to set me up for the next 10 years.”;

McLachlin won $1.3 million last year with six finishes in the Top 25. So far this year he has earned $233,704. His best finishes have been a tie for 17th at the FBR Open and a tie for 24th in both the season-opening Mercedes-Benz Championship in Hawaii and the U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee last month.

McLachlin said he wouldn't have had the luxury of tinkering with his swing without the victory at Reno that guaranteed his spot on tour through 2010. The next week, Sean O'Hair recommended he talk to his swing coach, Sean Foley, who also works with Stephen Ames and Hunter Mahan.

“;You can't really stay at home for three or four months and just work on it on the driving range because that's not going to hold up under pressure,”; McLachlin said. “;It gives me this year to be able to make that big overhaul. I mean, it's a massive overhaul. Everything that I've done in my golf swing we're pretty much doing the opposite.”;