Sad to say our New Orleans stay has come to an end. This week has been full of amazing food and amazing people! We got in early on Sunday and had a chance to check out the French Quarter Festival with one of my best friends. We saw an awesome local band called Trombone Shorty and made our way through all of the food stands... sampling all the food that we had missed so much over the year...gumbo, po'boys, jambalaya.





Then the best surprise of the week was when Parker got paired with Chef Emeril Lagasse during the Wednesday Pro Am. They had a blast together and that night we were fortunate enough to attend a Zurich Classic party at his restaurant Emeril's. Later in the week we checked out NOLA, his more casual but equally as delicious restaurant.

Parker & I with his cousin Holly at the Players Party at Acme Oyster House

During the day on Wednesday I participated in arts and crafts day with the children of St Michael's School and also had the chance to meet the CNN Hero of the Year. Her name is Liz McCartney, Director and Co-Founder of an amazing program called the St. Bernard Project. Their mission is to help rebuild the lives of the Katrina survivors. With the help of volunteers and donated materials, they rebuild the homes in the St. Bernard Parish so that families can return home. I hope to come back next year and volunteer with her organization http://www.stbernardproject.org/

On the course Parker made huge progress this week. Everything really came together for him during the first 2 days and it seemed like golf almost looked effortless. Unfortunately he had some back pains on Saturday which didn't allow him to get into any kind of rhythm on the course. Sunday he felt much better and was able to find some positive progress in his swing once again. Excited to be in Charlotte now, this is always one of Parker's favorite tournaments!

This blog is especially dedicated to all the American Idol fans!

Today was a great reunion for Parker and his Pebble Beach Pro Am partner, Doug, and also a day where we had the chance to make a personal connection with one of the American Idol Finalist.

Parker, Doug, and friends had an awesome day of golf out at Whisper Rock and then we all met up for dinner out in Scottsdale at a restaurant called NoRTH. Through family ties, we were joined by the father of American Idol Finalist, Scott MacIntyre. What a wonderful guy. We are so thrilled for their whole family and will be rooting Scott on the rest of the way! Don't forget to vote on Tuesday. :-)

Marissa, Andrew, Doug, Parker, Kristy, Doug MacIntyre, & Jim at NoRTH in Scottsdale, AZ

Phil Mickelson, Charles Schawb, Doug MacKenzie, & Parker at the Pebble Beach Pro Am In February

Spring Training in Scottsdale

This weekend Parker and I had the chance to check out a Spring Training Game in Scottsdale. Ever year we seem to be traveling at this time and always miss out on this huge attraction in AZ. It was such an awesome day for a baseball game. We got to watch the Giants vs. the Padres and of course were rooting for my old home team the Giants. Thanks to our friends at the Giants for such an awesome day!!!

We just got back from an amazing long weekend in Sun Valley, ID. It was a great escape from the golf course and just what we needed to recharge for the next road trip. Special thanks to Cubby for helping us organize such an awesome weekend!

Parker in his new Oakley goggles - Thanks Oakley!

Parker & I on top of "Mt. Baldy"

West Coast Highlights

So once again, the West Coast swing has gone by in a blink of an eye! I can't believe that it is already over...It is our favorite part of the year, but also the busiest. Here are some of the highlights!

Pre Tournament week ~ Hawaii

It all started with a basketball game with the President Elect, Barack Obama



Security was high



I guess word travels fast when the future President is in town




Mercedes-Benz Championship ~ Maui

Friends and Family joined us in the Mercedes Celebration



Parker's best friend Max proposed to his girlfriend Margaux




Sony Open ~ Oahu

This is what you do when you don't get to play on the weekend at the Sony Open...
Bocce Ball



& Canoeing at Sunset!!!



FBR Open ~ Phoenix

To jump start the week, Parker and I hosted a wine tasting on Monday of the FBR with Destination Cellars and Duckhorn Winery





Dave, one of Parker's best friend's, caddied for him at the FBR and helped him earn the first Top 20 finish of the year!






Buick Invitational ~ San Diego

I can't believe I made the February issue of InStyle Magazine! My head is the size of a pencil dot but its there!!! (I am just one of the 50 women surrounding Justin Timberlake during the Las Vegas Tournament in the bottom left photo!)




AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am ~ Pebble Beach

This is where we host our version of the Clambake!



And after getting paired with Phil Mickelson for the first 3 rounds of the AT&T, Phil graciously invited our group out for dinner (and our good friend even captured a quick pic with him!)



Northern Trust Open ~ Los Angeles

Only in LA would we get the opportunity to meet Bradley Bayou, a fashion designer to the stars and author of The Science of Sexy



Parker and UCLA Alumni including Kevin Chappel, Brandt Jobe, Scott McCarron, & Tom Pernice were introduced at half time during the Thursday night UCLA Basketball game against Washington



My grandparents even had the chance to enjoy their very first PGA TOUR Golf Tournament!



Finally, the weekend provided us with a little time off to go support Parker's brother Spencer in his Stanford Volleyball match against Northridge

***

Those are just some snapshots of our "off course" adventures! It has been a great West Coast swing! Thanks to everyone who made the effort to be there to share in these moments with us. It makes this journey truly incredible when we can share it with family and friends! See you in Florida!

Parker's First Mercedes Benz Championship

I am actually writing this from San Diego... so its a little overdue. But I wanted to share these pictures from the Mercedes! It was such a wonderful week. I now know why all of the veterans on TOUR say this is their favorite tournament. There were so many things that made this week so special! Celebrating Parker's first Mercedes-Benz Championship in his home state could not have been more amazing! We would love to back here again in the near future!

Happy New Year

Arriving in Hawaii at the end of December is our cue that the new season is about to begin. We can't think of anything better than being with family and friends in Hawaii to bring in the New Year.

This year was the first "off season" that Parker has experienced since he turned professional.

We kept pretty busy catching up on things at home and Parker dedicated himself to training and practicing. We also took a wonderful trip to Italy in early December. It is important to us to end the year with some time away where we can turn off all communication - no phones and no computers. Its amazing how cleansing and freeing it can be to just put down that Blackberry. It allowed us to reflect on the previous year and prepare for new season right around the corner. Ironically, the exact time of our trip to Italy was the week of 3rd stage of Q-School. This was Parker's first year to not have to return to Q-School, so we toasted with great appreciation of all of his hard work.

Ponte Vecchio Bridge in Florence

Tenute Silvio Nardi Winery in Montalcino

With our friends Andrew & Marissa at Altesino Winery in Montalcino

The most exciting event surrounding the New Year was the opportunity we had to meet President Elect, Barack Obama. Parker's father, Chris McLachlin, was Obama's varsity basketball coach at Punahou. We have all followed the extensive media coverage of Obama's love for the game, and anxiously awaited the reunion between player and coach.

While he was here vacationing on the island, the President Elect gathered some former teammates and headed to the gym for a pick up game at his old high school. The game just wouldn't have been complete without their coach and the night before ....Chris, Parker, and his brother Spencer received the invitation to join him for a game.

So on their very first meeting, Parker guarded Obama, and Obama guarded Parker!

After the game, the rest of the family was permitted to gather in the athletic office for a short get together with the basketball gang. To our surprise the future President of the United States said...how about a family picture...

Time to Exhale

Its hard to believe that Parker's second season on the PGA TOUR has finally come to an end. As long as the year has been, it has all flown by so incredibly fast. (I know...I think I say that every year!) The end of the golf season seemed to come at perfect timing. I could tell Parker was running on fumes and I myself was ready for a break from the "golf world" for a bit. :-) We had to take a few weeks at home before we could reflect on the season and appreciate all of the special memories on the road and all of the great accomplishments Parker has made this year.

The home stretch was a memorable few weeks on the West Coast. We had a chance to see lots of family and friends as the tour moved back West for the Fall Series.

The Valero Texas Open was an extra special week for me because the PGA TOUR Wives Association http://www.pgatourwives.org/index.php partnered with the Valero Foundation to host a luncheon for the Women of Operation Homefront. Operation Homefront is an amazing organization that was started by two wives of soldiers after 9/11. http://www.operationhomefront.net/ This organization supports troops, families left behind, and the wounded soldiers and their families. Our event with Operation Homefront was a day to honor the the women and families of the wounded soldiers being treated at the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio and to thank them for all they have given to our country. I had the honor of meeting so many incredibly strong women that day, it was a truly moving and humbling experience to hear the real life stories of the families that serve this country so unselfishly.

As a follow up to our event with Operation Homefront we had the chance to put together care packages for the soldiers serving abroad. It was a great day as we packed boxes with lots of goodies, supplies, and signed photos with messages from the players.

The next tournament brought us to Las Vegas! The whole week was so much fun!!! This year the tournament had a new sponsor, Shriners Hospital for Children, and and a new host.... JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE. To be honsest, this tournament had been causing quite a buzz around the TOUR for the few months leading up to the event. Earlier in the summer we learned that Justin Timerlake's mother/manager was going to be hosting a luncheon for all of the wives during the week of the tournament... with a surprise guest at the luncheon! I think every wife begged their husband to play in the tournament, for that reason only... the chance to possibly meet Justin!!!

The luncheon was a huge success and an absolute treat. And just when we thought that there was no way we were going to get to see him, he walked in the door when we were least expecting! I wish I could say I have pictures to show, but the moment when 50 women realized that Justin Timberlake was here to see them was priceless, the place went wild!

Later in the week Justin hosted a charity concert "Justin Timberlake and Friends" at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino. He and his "Friends" including The Jonas Brothers, Leona Lewis, Boyz II Men, Adam Levine of Maroon 5, Rihanna, 50 Cent, Will.i.am, and Lionel Richie played until after 1:00 am in the morning! It was one of the most memorable nights of the year!







This year Parker was able to end his season at home! It was a goal for Scottsdale to be his last tournament of the year and this year he was able to do just that. Thursday's round was a bit of an indication that he didn't have much left in him. I think that fact that he was so close to the end of his season and that he could see his finish line...started to get to him on the golf course. I would have completely understood if he would have had another similar round on Friday, but instead he came back and played one of the low rounds of the tournament to only barely miss the cut. Although it would have been nice to end on the weekend, he pushed himself and gave it everything he had left to end his season. It was an admirable ending to a great year!

Thank you to everyone who gave him so much support this year! It has meant so much to both of us! See you in 2009!

Turning Stone

A very cold Thursday morning

This week was our official introduction to Fall! Parker and I often joke that we have a full year of Summer, one because we reside in Arizona and two because the PGA Tour basically follows the warm weather. This week, however, was an exception to the rule. The Turning Stone Resort Championship fell a few weeks later than last year and if you live in New York ... apparently a few weeks can make a world of difference when it comes to weather. Instead of the normal 75+ degree golf days that we are used to, the temperature was down into the 40-50s. Everyone on the golf course was dressed more for a North Eastern football game than for a golf tournament. It was the coldest we had been in a long time.

Even though this was a week where hand warmers were an absolute must and player dinning looked more like ski lodge, I actually loved the change of pace. Last year everyone kept telling us that we were just a few days too early to see the fall colors of central New York. This year we were right on time. The colors were amazing and apparently within a few more weeks they only get better.

Enjoying the Fall colors

The cold and the rain were elements that Parker had to battle on the golf course. I know that he was so excited to get back here because we had such fond memories of this tournament from last year. Thursday and Friday were a grueling couple of days, it even hailed before his Friday tee time. Thankfully, Parker finished just before the round was called because of darkness and made a 20ft putt on #17 to make the cut on the number on Friday evening. Then on Saturday he had another cut to make, draining a 7ft putt on #9 to play again on Sunday. Needless to say he was keeping it exciting for our friends from New York who came out and toughed it out through the cold with me. They kept telling me ...this is just a typical day in Central New York!

The sun finally comes out (the geese are even flying south for the winter!)

Right now we are on the plane headed to the next tournament and the pilot just said that it is 86 degrees down in San Antonio. Even though I loved getting my first glimpse of the Fall season, it will be nice to get back to some warm weather ... San Antonio, Las Vegas, then Scottsdale. (this 4 week stretch was sure hard to pack for ... shorts, t-shirts, beanies, and gloves?!? Ahhh, life on the road!)