Aloha for now; the ride was incredible | The Honolulu Advertiser

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Aloha for now; the ride was incredible | The Honolulu Advertiser | Hawaii's Newspaper

Posted on: Thursday, November 8, 2007

GOLF REPORT
Aloha for now; the ride was incredible

•	Fujikawa just missed going out with bang

By Parker McLachlin
Special to The Advertiser

2006 Hawai'i golf calendar
See a listing of all Hawai'i golf events this year.

Golf tips
Here are some tips to keep your game in tip-top shape!

Advertiser golf guide
Here is a look at all of the golf courses in the state, with contact numbers, yardage and green fees.

Parker McLachlin, a former Punahou and UCLA athlete, recently completed his rookie season on the PGA Tour after earning his card in qualifying school. He and Castle alum Dean Wilson were the only Hawai'i golfers on the Tour. In his final column for The Advertiser this year, McLachlin, Waikoloa's touring pro, recaps the season and discusses his plans for the future.

Welcome to my last 2007 installment of Postcards from Parker for the PGA Tour season. It's been a fun ride for me and hopefully I've been able to share with all of you some of the interesting and unique experiences that have been a part of my 2007 PGA Tour year.

This past week was the final week of the 2007 PGA Tour. As always, it was at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. There was an interesting vibe all week. There were a lot of guys who just brought their families and were there to enjoy their week at Walt Disney. Then there were a lot of other guys who knew this was their last chance to make it into the Top 50, 125, or 150.

It was fun to play the first two rounds with Tadd Fujikawa, who many of you follow as well. It's funny that my 2007 season started at the Sony playing one group in front of Tadd, and then ended by playing with Tadd.

I thought it would be fun to give you all a bit of a season in review. So here it goes:

My favorite tournament (outside of The Sony, of course): Wachovia in North Carolina.

My most memorable shot: Hitting my ball out of the water hazard on the 18th hole at Wachovia, and then putting out barefooted live on CBS.

My best shot under pressure: The up and down I made for birdie at Turning Stone on the 18th hole, knowing that the up-and-down would make me about $100,000 more. That got me from 10th place to 5th place. (My tee shot on 16 at the FBR to 6 feet was also a great experience, because I knew the crowd was ready to boo me if I missed the green.)

My favorite weekend atmosphere: Playing in San Diego at the Buick Invitation. I played two groups behind Tiger Woods on Saturday and it was absolutely electric. The way the course was built we happened to see each other most of the round.

My most enjoyable playing partner: Kevin Stadler is great to play with. He went to USC and I went to UCLA. He plays quickly and has a care-free attitude.

My off-season plans: I finished the season ranked 137 on the Money List. Although many of you may think that if I'm out of the 125 I lose my playing privileges, I actually am in the 126-150 category, which gives me Conditional PGA Tour Status for 2008. That means I will probably get into 18 to 20 events. The other thing, of course, is that I'm going to the Final Stage of Q-School to try to improve my status to Full Member, which is how I got my card last year. If I make it through Q-School again, I'll be in the same place I was this year, which is eligible for almost every event on the calendar. The Final Stage of Q-School is Nov. 28 to Dec. 3 and it's in Orlando this year, so keep your eye out for me

Finally, I wanted to let you all know that it has been an incredible experience for me to write these every week. I've gotten some great responses from many of you on the Islands who read this weekly. I'd love to do this again next year, but I want to make sure all of you will still be interested. If you are, I'd love to hear from you, so please feel free to go to my website at www.ParkerMcLachlin.com and send me a note through there and let me know.

Thanks again for going on this incredible ride with me.

Parker McLachlin can be reached at www.parkermclachlin.com

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