What they said: Parker McLachlin

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Stan Badz/PGA TOUR

Parker McLachlin's win in the 2008 Legends-Reno Tahoe Open gave him the luxury to work on his swing throughout 2009.

SONY OPEN AT HAWAII: Transcript archive

JOHN BUSH: Parker McLachlin joins us here in the interview room at the Sony Open in Hawaii. Parker, obviously a special place for you. Just comment on being back at the Sony Open.

PARKER MCLACHLIN: Yes, you know being back home is always fun. I feel like the more I comeback, the easier it is to deal with all of the sort of extra curricular things, the demands on my time.

So I feel like I'm finally starting to get a nice handle on that and treat this like a normal TOUR event, and yet with the big crowd support that I tend to have out here.

JOHN BUSH: Look back at 2009 for us, and then also your expectations for the upcoming season?

PARKER MCLACHLIN: Yes, 2009 was a transition year for me. I rebuilt my golf swing from the ground up. It was a struggle at times, very frustrating at times. It's something that I felt I needed to do to get to where I want to get to in my competitive golf days. It was something that was necessary to do. I feel like I'm 85 percent transitioned into it and, you know, I'm expecting big things in the 2010, and I know I'm going to have to continue to work hard as I did in 2009, but I think I started to see some results at the end of 2009 and the scores started dropping and my consistency is better. And I think 2010 will hopefully provide more of the same and some bigger results.

JOHN BUSH: Questions?

Q. How do you to manage to handle playing here because a lot of the other folks come back here and for whatever reasons they don't do fairly well out here, how have you managed to do it?

PARKER MCLACHLIN: Yes, it seems to be like an every other year for me. Every other time I play here, I play well. The other year I miss the cut. I think last year I missed the cut. It might be one of those things where I'll play well one year and then I'll have high expectation coming back the next year, then I'll miss the cut. Then I miss the cut, and then I come back the next year, I have lower expectations, and then I play well.

It might be one of those type of deals, I think everyone in the state is always rooting for the local guy and hoping that we can sort of have that miraculous run like David Ishii did back in 1990 and Ted Makalena back in '66.

I think it's one of those things where we all put so much pressure on ourselves to perform well and sometimes trying 110 percent doesn't necessarily equate to playing better. Sometimes it equates to playing worse.

Q. You say you have 85 percent of your swing back, what's the 15 percent that you feel like you don't have yet?

PARKER MCLACHLIN: Pretty much, you know, like muscle memory, I think. I've done it a certain way for 21 years and now in the last year I've changed all of those motor patterns.

So just getting those engrained has been the biggest challenge.

I feel like I'm like 85 percent of the way there, and it's going to take some competitive rounds and under pressure rounds and under pressure shots to really solidify and really feel like I'm 100% completed with the transformation.

Q. Talk about David Ishii, did you see any of that, how old were you then?

PARKER MCLACHLIN: I was 11. I just remember the excitement. I'm not sure if I was here, but I was three years into playing golf. I just remember the excitement and how cool it was and it just seemed like such a reality for someone from Hawaii to win on the PGA TOUR. I think three years into my golf playing career, I think that was something that was motivating for me.

Q. Did it have some affect on you?

PARKER MCLACHLIN: You know, I can't say that I consciously remember it having a major affect on me. But I do think that, you know, I think subconsciously, I think me seeing a guy at such a young age, 11 years old, seeing David Ishii, win the Sony Open. I was like, this is something that anybody can do. I'm from Hawaii. David is from Hawaii. I can do this.

I think I remember more watching like Fred Couples win The Masters, things like that stood out to me more. But I think that David winning the Sony Open was like that. I believed that I can do it, too. It was kind of like that initial seed that got it started.

Q. This can be such an unforgiving course, what conditions would you like to see that might be the best for your game?

PARKER MCLACHLIN: Trade winds, I this. I've played this course so many times in trade winds that I think if it goes to kona winds now, I'm playing it brand new like everybody else and it kind of takes away a bit of my knowledge, and course knowledge, on how the course plays. So I think I would love to see it blow strong trade winds.

Q. How was the Pro Am for you?

PARKER MCLACHLIN: I had a great time. I had a great group yesterday. I'm not sure if I'm playing tomorrow. It was a great experience. I had some Sony VIP's, and we had an awesome time.

Q. You feel you have an advantage having played the course many times?

PARKER MCLACHLIN: Yes, it's a weird thing because sometimes you feel like you do have an advantage, and other times it's like you almost don't because you had so many experiences on it that you almost remember the bad shots as well as the good shots.

Q. You know too much?

PARKER MCLACHLIN: Yes, you almost know too much. You have been in so many different places.

But I definitely know the spots to miss it, and know the spots not to be. I think in the trade wind conditions that helps out a lot. It seems like there is one side of the fairway to be on on every hole and that's important. Other sides of the fairway are usually going to be dead. You are going to have a tough time making par. I think that's the main thing that course knowledge helps me with where you are allowed to miss it and where you can absolutely not miss it.

Q. Do you remember the first time that you actually attended a Sony Open or Hawaii Open or a PGA event?

PARKER MCLACHLIN: Yes, I feel like I was probably 13. I just remember being one of those kids that, you know, would wait around the putting green for the pro to throw his ball to. I just thought that was the absolutely coolest thing in the world. I'm always throwing balls to kids, you know. I will go through 3 sleeves a day just to throw the ball to the kid. That for me, growing up, that was like the coolest thing. So I always remember that, and I try to make a point to do that.

Q. Do you remember whose ball it was?

PARKER MCLACHLIN: I think my dad still has them in the garage. They would all sign it. It was kind of surreal. I remember getting like Mark Calcavecchia's, and he signed it. And then a couple of years ago we were playing together in the third round, it was like really kind of bizarre, you know.

Q. Does it make you feel old?

PARKER MCLACHLIN: Yes, I didn't bring that up.

Q. Speaking of young, what do you think of Tadd Fujikawa's game, people think he's the coolest kid.

PARKER MCLACHLIN: You know, I haven't played a whole lot with him. I think he has shown some real sparks of brilliance. I think time is going to tell. He is still a young guy. Time will tell if he sort of has what it takes to be out here. Is he 18 or 19? 18. It will just been interesting to see how he continues to development. It just seems a little premature. It just seems a little premature to turn pro when he did. But that was his choice.

If he would have asked me I would have said, hey, go to college, enjoy your time, a golfer peaks in his 30s. You don't need to rush into it.

I think it's different playing all of your golf here in Hawaii, and then turning pro, and now you have to actually play golf in the rest of the country.

You got to learn different grasses and different conditions and different golf courses. I know he has a good track record here. But it's a different game when you have to play out in the rest of the country. It will be interesting to see how he develops.

JOHN BUSH: Anything else? Parker, thanks for coming by. I hope you play well this week.