Could there have been a more vividly illustrative example of how Michelle Wie's career has gone badly wrong than yesterday at the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open?

While she was floundering, shooting a quintuple-bogey on one hole, missing yet another PGA Tour cut with a second-round 80, fellow Punahou School alumnus Parker McLachlin was soaring to the top of the leaderboard with a course-record tying 62.

While she was packing up to go home or her next couch session with a sports psychologist, McLachlin is chasing a title.

While she was underlining the perils of being silver-spoon fed sponsor's exemptions and fast-tracked, McLachlin was reminding us of the virtues of paying your dues and painstakingly learning your craft.

Two golfers from the same city, same school playing the same course. But in approaches — and recent performance to this point — galaxies apart.

McLachlin, ever humble, always supportive, would be the last one to revel in Wie's misfortune or publicly pat himself on the back. But this week, indeed this year, he would not need to. It has been there for all to see. Yet only Team Wie seems to ignore it.

McLachlin actually played golf at Punahou. An interesting concept. Played golf in college, too. In between, he worked the cart barn at Waialae Country Club — hardly the salt mines but nevertheless educational — to earn course practice time in the evenings.

He knocked around on the Hooters Tour (and, no that isn't a pub crawl), Tight Lies Tour, Gateway Tour and Spanos Tour. Chances are Wie hasn't heard of them. That qualified him for the Nationwide Tour which eventually led him to PGA Qualifying School.

So, yes, you could say the 29-year-old McLachlin has paid his dues — and a few more folks besides — just to get to the Reno Open.

There have been no corporate jets to whisk him from continent to continent. Plenty of car rides to places like Abilene and Bakersfield, to be sure. An awful lot of soul-searching about career paths, probably.

He's had to play qualifiers and scrounge for sponsors. Nobody at a high-powered Hollywood agency of the stars makes calls on his behalf to get exemptions or hires caddies and a retinue of specialists for him.

At the Sony Open in Hawai'i a couple years ago Wie walked off the course (after remembering to sign her scorecard that day) to the waiting arms of an agent, a swing coach and someone to pat down her forehead, straighten her hair and give interview dos and don'ts. McLachlin had only his caddy waiting for him.

And in a way that toughens and prepares, it wasn't hard to see it has all been good for him.

Should we really be surprised where the two are this weekend?

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.