WAHIAWA — With a style that can only be called "Parker-esque" at this point, Alex Ching used the final day of the Army Invitational to finish everybody off at Leilehua Golf Course. The recent Punahou graduate closed with even-par 72 yesterday to win by the same nine-shot gap he took into the final round.

A week ago, it was 1997 Punahou graduate Parker McLachlin taking a large lead into the final round of the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open and seizing his first PGA Tour win by seven shots.

Ching is following in McLachlin's spike prints on the local level. In the past year, he has won the Optimist International, OCC and Hickam invitationals, ILH and state high school championships, earned the lone amateur slot in the Sony Open in Hawai'i and captured the Manoa Cup, the state's most prestigious amateur title.

"I've been pretty motivated recently because of watching Parker on TV and, ever since the Sony, I've just wanted to go to college and play as well as I can," Ching said. "I've been trying to be like Parker and Dean (Wilson). I think they are the ideal role models."

And, Ching added, "I like the pressure. I think it's fun."

Brandan Kop, an eight-time Army champ inducted into the Hawai'i Golf Hall of Fame this year, watched Ching open with a 66 — needing only 24 putts — and 68 and compared him favorably with McLachlin. Both seem to make everything they look at on the greens. According to Kop, Ching might be a better ball-striker at this point in his career.

But Ching is the one who was inspired by watching McLachlin last Sunday.

"That's every junior golfer's dream," he said. "That's anybody's dream. To see him at such a high level it gives us the feeling like we can do it, too. But you can see it takes a lot of hard work."

Ching has been working on his game with his father this summer, but not exclusively. The two-time state high school doubles champion also played the Blue Moon Men's Night Doubles tennis tournament with his tennis coach, David Lam. They advanced through qualifying to the main draw, despite rarely practicing because Ching has a summer job teaching tennis at The Oahu Club.

Ching will head to the University of San Diego and collegiate golf in two weeks — the day after attempting to defend his OCC title at his home course.

Yesterday's blustery round was Ching's worst and his three-day total of 10-under 206 was still the lowest winning score since Jarrod Mizusawa won with 205 in 1997. That came when the tournament was played at both Leilehua and Kalakaua, which is considerably shorter. Chan Kim also shot 206 solely at Leilehua when he won two years ago.

There was no final-round drama similar to McLachlin's scare after the turn. The closest runner-up Spencer Shishido (72—215) could get was six shots. That came while Ching was missing three consecutive 6-foot birdie putts on the front nine. For him, that's a slump.

Still, Ching insisted he felt pressure. "Spencer made a (35-foot) birdie putt on (No.) 1 and another on 3," Ching said. "He was closing and I was getting flustered."

Shishido, a junior at Sonoma State, never sensed it and said he "was just trying to play for second pretty much," despite making up a nine-shot deficit for his only Hawai'i victory, at the 2005 Barbers Point Invitational.

"He's clutch," Shishido said of Ching. "He was on his own."

Ching played the front nine in 1-over, but got on track on the back and birdied two of the final five holes from eight feet and four. He was good to the final putt, draining a 12-footer for par on the 18th.

"I was happy to get out here and the greens were running well and they are like Oahu Country Club right now," Ching said. "The same speed and the same cut and so it felt like whenever I was over the ball, if I got it to the hole it would go in. The hole was big."

Waiakea High School senior Henry Park (75—219) took third. Park was also third at last year's Kona Open and had top-five finishes in the 2006 and 2007 state high school championships.

Merv Matsumoto (77—226) won the senior flight. Hawai'i Golf Hall of Famer Wendell Kop, 73, captured the A Flight after shooting his age — two better — in an opening-round 71.