Join us as we take a tour on the PGA Tour with Parker McLachlin, a former Punahou athlete. McLachlin earned his PGA Tour card for this season. He joins Castle alum Dean Wilson as the only Hawai'i golfers on the PGA Tour. McLachlin, Waikoloa's touring pro, will write his impressions on events that he's just completed and tournaments that are upcoming on his calendar.

Aloha from Scottsdale.

This officially completes the "West Coast Swing" of the 2008 PGA Tour season and it was a great experience for me. Out of the seven events on the West Coast I only played in four, but I had solid finishes in each of the four tournaments and now find myself 64th on the PGA Tour's money list.

When I measure my West Coast Swing last year against this year's, there is a noticeable difference in the improvement made. I'm moving in the right direction and continuing to get better. I'm at a point now with over $245,000 in earnings that I can set my schedule a little bit more because I have a better status.

One of the things I learned last year is that when you play every single tournament you find yourself at the mercy of the PGA Tour schedule, and you don't have much control of your own schedule. Having been around the block once before now, I'm able to remember which courses, and which cities, I like going to. That's why I've decided to skip this week's Honda Classic and get ready for the PODS Championship and (hopefully) Arnold Palmer's tournament, the Bay Hill Invitational.

I have felt a lot more comfortable in my second go around. That's because nothing is "new" this year and everything is more familiar. I don't have to learn new golf courses every time that I play, and I remembered places on the golf course over the West Coast Swing to hit it or not to hit it this time around. All the course knowledge, etc., and the city knowledge that I gathered last year have proved invaluable for this year.

I remember last year it was very windy when we played in Mexico, and in order to compete there I had to alter my swing a bit. What that did, however, was tweak my mechanics a bit, which ended up throwing me off for the next few tournaments.

This time around I learned that I should take this week off, and get ready for a tournament like PODS, where I like the course and the city, etc.

Before I go, I do want to congratulate my little brother Spencer, who I know is playing tonight against Hawai'i. He had 18 kills against No. 1 ranked BYU last week, and then 16 kills the second night, helping Stanford in the upset.

Thanks to all of you on the Islands who have been nothing short of incredibly supportive of my brother and me.

I look forward to checking in with you after the PODS Championship in two weeks.

Mahalo,

Parker

Parker McLachlin can be reached at www.parkermclachlin.com.