First Week Back

Grand Blanc, MI at 9:00 pm!

Parker and I were both looking forward to getting back on the road after our very enjoyable 3 week break. It was the longest break of the year so far... one week is just never enough, by the time you get unpacked and get everything put away, you have to pull it all back out again! Three weeks was just right! We had the chance to relax, cook at home, and even got to see his entire family for his cousin's wedding.

The McLachlin Family

At first we felt a little rusty with our packing, but we got back into the swing of traveling very quickly. The hardest thing for us this week was adjusting to the time change. Coming from the West Coast, adjusting to East Coast time is hard enough by itself, but since Michigan is so far north, it stays light sooooo late. It didn't get dark until 10:00 at night there.

Even though he didn't get the chance to play on the weekend, Parker is feeling great about his game and is enjoying getting back into his rhythm. On his time off, he visited the Titleist facility in Southern California and has put a new driver in the bag for these upcoming weeks.

Off the course pretty much consisted of movies and working out. They had a great gym nearby where I went with the girls and took cycling classes and pilates classes. Both were a first for me, and I loved it! It was great to have a group of us that motivated each other to go everyday. There was also a movie theater right by the hotel and we saw three movies this week. I think that there might be something with movies and golf...It is one of our favorite hobbies on the road. I know that Parker loves movies but it is also great way for him to get out of the sun, the heat, and away from golf crowds. Just a cool dark place to escape and enjoy.

Back to AZ

The US Open Qualifier is finally complete and now we can plan out a schedule for the upcoming months. I know that it was disappointing when Parker missed at the qualifier but somehow this break might be just what he needs to prepare himself for some solid summer tournaments. I didn't go to the qualifier but I knew that the course was either going to seem really easy after the long weekend at Memorial or he just wasn't going to have enough steam to battle through a 36 hole day? Even though it would have been great to play at Torrey with a hometown crowd (all of the So Cal relatives), being able to going home for more than one week is going to be a first for the year. We are both looking forward to some down time and going to enjoy being back in Arizona.

"Rough" Week at the Memorial

I sit here patiently waiting back at the hotel, I am supposed to pick up Parker in about an hour from his US Open Qualifier. We have been in Ohio for over a week now. And the results of today's qualifier, somewhat determine our schedule for the upcoming weeks. This past week was...how shall I say it... quite a "rough" week!

Parker and I managed to sleep through our first tornado warning. There was a storm that came through overnight, with lightning striking down hitting a nearby hotel. The thunder was so loud that it woke us both up, however somehow we fell back asleep as the city sirens went on full blast... (telling everyone of a possible tornado). I have no idea why it didn't occur to us in our half asleep state that we should get out of the room and go to the lobby of the hotel??? Thankfully it was just a warning and the very next morning brought sunny skies and I didn't hear of any major damage or injuries from the storm. It is good to know for the future...next time we hear those sirens, we will get downstairs!

This week was very special to be in the presence of Jack Nicklaus. It seemed like he was deeply involved in every aspect of the tournament. I would often see him around the club house or on a golf cart driving around his course. Oh but his course...as I am sure some of you saw, his course challenged everyone out there. Parker had a nice Thursdays round (looking back that +1 looked awfully nice) but on Friday his allergies got to him and he battled through the entire day sneezing and sniffling as the cottonwood trees blew what looked to be like snow through the air. I am not sure if that is what even got to him, but the site of the little cotton balls blowing around is enough to make you sneeze just by looking at it. The weekend brought more difficulties. Parker managed to find his way through of the rough and out of bunkers but definitely paid a price. It was a long day on the golf course on Sunday and I am starting to think that the excitement of AT&T, the heat in TX and the treachery of the course in Ohio is starting to get to him.

Even though it was a difficult week on the course, we had a great time in Dublin. It was a quaint little town with some fun restaurants. We loved our dinner at Tucci's Italian Restaurant, however after the really long days, Chipolte seemed to be the dinner of choice. We also had the chance to meet up with my cousins that live up in Ohio. We visited them back when Parker played the Nationwide Event in Cleveland, and then this year during the Memorial. Next we hope that we will be back one of these years in the near future for the World Golf Championship in Akron!

Fort Worth, TX

Fort Worth, TX came as a surprise to us. I think we were expecting a bigger city like Dallas, but we were pleasantly surprised with a small downtown with lots of character. It felt like we were truly in Texas. It seemed like everyone drove huge trucks, and it was very common to share the elevator with people their wrangler jeans, cowboy hat, and boots. We loved it! Not far from where we were staying were the Stockyards. On one of the first nights we headed over there and went to a place called Billy Bobs, it is apparently the world's largest Honky Tonk. I am still not really sure what that truly means, but it was this huge indoor facility with music, food, bull riding,and more. That night we saw Travis Tritt in concert and tried some local food (and were even served calf fries)... I didn't eat it and neither did Parker. We will try pretty much anything, but that went beyond our limits!

Later that week we went to dinner with some friends at a place called Lonesome Dove. www.lonesomedovebistro.com. It was an awesome experience. They had quite a bit of game on their menu which was a little intimidating at first but we decided to try it out and had appetizers which included kangaroo nachos! The food was phenomenal! The chef and owner Tim Love, was actually a winner on Iron Chef America. He is know for his signature desert...Warm Ancho Chile Chocolate Cake. WOW it was amazing!

This was the first year that Parker had the privilege of playing at the Colonial. I know that it was a special tournament for him because of the history with Ben Hogan. Looking back, we called this week his Cruise Control week. I think that both his body and mind were pretty exhausted after the excitement from Atlanta. Yet, he managed to play well enough to successfully play all 4 days. I am sure that the heat didn't help with the energy level. It was close to 95 degrees with humidity!!!! (Which made it nearly unbearable to walk the course, and I am sure even more difficult to play.)

We have already made it to Dublin, OH. Parker snuck into this tournament just before the cut off. You had to be top 70 after the week of Atlanta and because of his great play there, Parker was 69th on the Fed Ex List. This morning Parker had the privilege of meeting Jack Nicklaus. Parker saw him when he was at the course registering for the tournament. Parker was in his street clothes because we had sent his luggage through the luggage transporting service (to avoid all of these extra charges & hassle at the airlines). Well Parker introduced himself to Mr. Nicklaus and thanked him for the invitation this week. Parker told me that Mr. Nicklaus shook his hand and politely said "Your welcome, thank you for being here"... with this extremely blank stare on his face. I am sure he thought... now who is this???? Parker and I got a little laugh because we thought, with some more hard work on the golf course, maybe one day soon Mr. Nicklaus might get the chance to know who this guy from Hawaii really is.

It Must Have Been the Pants!

If you can believe it, only a few hours after Parker finished on 18 at the AT&T Classic in Atlanta, we were already on a plane in two middle seats (one right in front of the other) on our way to the next tournament in Fort Worth, TX! WHAT A DAY! On the plane was where I did most of my reflecting on one of the most exciting days we have ever experienced on the golf course!



When Parker got ready Sunday morning I saw him starting to iron his pants... oh yes, the wild ones. I looked at him and said... "REALLY!?!" Normally he only wears these pants during practice rounds? But we looked at his alternative outfit and he wasn't really into wearing the more classic khaki and blue that day, so we said... "Go For It!" Little did we know that this would be the most media coverage Parker has ever had on the PGA TOUR. After dropping him off I went back to the hotel, packed up and checked out (my usual Sunday routine). I met up with Curt who has been his long time sponsor through his company Tee Time. Curt came in from the Nationwide Tour BMW Charity Pro Am in SC where he had been playing in the pro am the last 3 days. Curt and I caught up with Parker at the 7th green. We saw his 2nd shot land about a foot away from the hole, at that time he was already 3 under for the day. Parker continued to make another birdie at the 9th hole and I knew this was going to be a very special day.

As Parker approached the 12th green, I saw my first glimpse of the leaderboard and I had to stop for a quiet moment and take it in. For the first time on the PGA TOUR I saw Parker's name T1 at the very top! It was an amazing feeling. I knew that there were a few other guys tied at that point so I didn't know how long it would last - but it is a moment I will keep with me forever. That very same hole, Parker birdied again and he was in sole first place. Then came 13, I was disappointed that the ball landed in the bunker there because from our view it looked like he hit an incredible drive. You could barely see Parker in the bunker because it was so deep. When that shot went in, I could barely believe what I was seeing. I even saw on pgatour.com that it made the #1 shot of the week! From that point on Curt and I just tried to stay as calm as possible and take everything one hole at a time. It was unfortunate to see him not able to save par on 14 & 16... and almost made birdie on 15 & 17 for that matter. The 18th hole wasn't what any of us were hoping for, but looking back, Parker would have had to make eagle to even get in a playoff. I still know that he wouldn't have changed his decision to lay up. I don't know where that wind came from, but it just wasn't meant to be. I just keep reminding myself, that he shot 5 under par to even end up were he was, and on any Sunday that is an incredible score.

On the plane, I was still processing it all, as he was too, I am sure. Wow, he really had a chance to win! I know that we can look back and see a shot here and a shot there...and how it could have added up in his favor. But more than anything, he now has the experience of playing in the lead on under his belt (both on Thursday and on Sunday), and I know that this is just an indication of greater things to come.

Right after the round I ran into Kenny Perry's wife in the clubhouse. She has been a great friend to me during our first two years on tour and we had a chance to catch up about both of our husband's dramatic rounds of golf. After I was telling her about Parker's day she said to me... "Oh, this is your first time in the lead!" She was so excited for us that this was our very first experience in this situation. It really made me think... because to me, today felt like this was "IT"...like everything came down to this one day, this one 18th hole. When you right there in the moment, I think it is only natural to have those emotions. But what I realized after talking to my friend, was that Kenny Perry has been in this situation, many many times in his career, and so will Parker. It is all part of the process and his development as a successful PGA TOUR Professional (and for me as his supporter & teammate, I am always developing and learning too!)

Birthday Dinner at Canoe

Besides all of the excitement on the course, we had a great week in Atlanta. We celebrated both of our birthdays at an awesome restaurant called Canoe. We had the opportunity to get together with Parker's management group, Career Sports, who is also based in Atlanta. (They had a very busy week since they also represent Ryuji Imada who won the tournament). We had the chance to go to an incredible Thai food Restaurant called NAN...(twice) www.nanfinedining.com! This was actually the restaurant that catered Vijay Singh's Champions Dinner at the Masters.

I also had the opportunity to be a part of Golf In the Garden which was a day of fun for the children at Children's Heathcare of Atlanta. It was a very special day where we got to hang out with the kids and give them something to smile about during this difficult time in there lives.






This week in Atlanta was a very memorable one. It is hard to believe that we have already moved on to the next tournament. Another great thing about Parker's T5 finish last week is that it moved him up to 69th on the FedEx list. Top 70 get into the Memorial in Ohio so we are very excited to be a part of that tournament as well.

Thank you to everyone for all of your phone calls, e-mails, and txt messages! I can't believe how many people were watching! It means so much to know that so many people are behind him. It is just a matter of time before it all comes together!

Dallas

I was sure that I was going to wait another week before I could express my thoughts about our week in Dallas, but already this Monday, we have moved forward and can reflect back on the last few days with a smile.

I would consider myself a pretty relaxed spectator. I can take both bogeys and birdies in stride, and know that 18 holes is a lot of golf and 72 holes is even more. A lot can happen in that time frame so I try to never get too high or low when I am watching. When people gasp when these guys hit it in the sand, I barely flinch. I have seen Parker get it up and down so many times now that I am pretty confident when the ball goes a little off the target he can make a great recovery. In fact, I think that is why people say "these guys are good" - because they can and do "recover"! All of that said, it doesn't mean that I don't let my emotions get involved when I am watching.

Again we were able to experience Parker's name at the top of the leader board for the second week in a row. With just some consistent play he managed to be at T3 going into the weekend. It was unfortunate to not see his game materialize the way he wanted on Saturday and Sunday. He had a stretch on Saturday of 7 birdie putts that just did not go in. Then a a couple bogeys... and boom, he was over par like "that." (Doesn't it aways seems to add up a lot faster when it is going in the wrong direction) At the end of the day, I felt deflated. Trying to keep my head up for Parker was hard when it seemed like everything was so in his reach. It just seems like when you are there in the moment, it can get so emotional.

Now a day later, already in a new city, I look back, it all seems like part of a greater learning experience. This has been the first time in a few years where Parker has been consistently getting off to a really great start. Before he often seemed to be putting himself behind the 8 ball on Thursday and Friday, and his top finishes came from the weekend rounds. So now is he on the other side of the spectrum. Now more that ever I am so confident that all of this experience is helping him develop into a stronger player. He is getting experience playing in the last few groups on the weekend and that is invaluable.

Off the course we had a great week. The Byron Nelson is a fabulous tournament that gives so much back to charity. The PGA TOUR Wives Association was also able to donate money to a local charity to help sponsor students to go to college. The Salesmanship Club (those guys in the "red pants") were so generous and accommodating the whole week. Plus we had access to a great gym this week, which is one of those little things that make such a difference!





Also since we were in Dallas we were able to attend a playoff game (Mavericks vs. Hornets). We went to the game with our great friends, the Allreds (who also play on TOUR). Fun story... Parker and I met at their wedding!


*You might not know that Parker has another quite unique talent...arcade basketball! They have an basketball game at the movie theater close by and last year Parker posted a record score. This year we went to that same movie theater...and his score still held!

We are already looking forward to this week in Charlotte. This was Parker's favorite tournament last year and I know he is excited to be back.
-Kristy

A New Favorite

This year's Hilton Head experience could not have been more different from last year. In 2007, Parker was an alternate for the Verizon Heritage in Hilton Head, SC. After a few people backed out of the tournament it was looking like Parker's number was going to get in. He flew on a last minute flight that arrived Wed at midnight. After catching a cab from Savannah to Hilton Head, he finally got to bed around 3am... needless to say, he had a rough 2 days to follow. Living off very little sleep, no practice rounds, and practically no energy, it wasn't the best combination for a successful tournament.

This year he was fully exempt into the tournament and we arrived with plenty of preparation time. My first thought after checking into our hotel (which overlooked the water) was... how could I have missed this one last year!!! What a special place. Everywhere you look people are riding their bikes, enjoying the beach, and basically making the most of being outside.

On the Wednesday before the tournament Parker and I joined our friends Matt and Sybi Kutchar on Daufuskie Island. Matt and Parker played golf while Sybi and I took a golf cart around the island with their 6 mo. old baby. After golf we found this little restaurant (below) on the opposite side of the island where we ate dinner and enjoyed the sunset. It was a great way to get out and explore a bit.


Thursday Parker played great, after 8 holes he was even tied for the lead. I took a peak at the leader board and I saw his name at the top of the list... this was the first time he had been in the lead on the PGA TOUR!!!!! Even though it lasted just for a hole, it is definitely something that i could get used to seeing more often. :-)

Parker had a great round both Thursday and Friday but struggled a bit on the weekend. It just goes to show you that 4 rounds of golf is a long time. I am not going lie... watching a rough round can be heartbreaking. Its just that you know the potential and know that that he is so capable ... you are just always hoping for the best. At the same time, after we leave the golf course (as one of my girlfriends out on tour said)...you never want it to show if it was a great round or one that you would rather forget, at the end of the day, it is still just the two of us and thats truly all that matters. Even though Parker didn't finish as high as he hoped, I still believe that he was able to take a lot of positives from this tournament, and its going to happen for him one of these weeks.

For me it was probably one of my favorite spectating tournaments of the year. Even though I was completely on the other side of the country, the feel of the community reminded me so much of where I grew up in Northern California. There was just something about it that I connected with. Each hole was lined by beautiful tall trees and every home on the course seemed to blend in perfectly with its environment. Nothing too overpowering, it just looked like a great place to live. Not only was the tournament beautiful, but it was quite the social gathering. I won't go as far as saying it was the FBR or anything, but it was definitely the place to be in South Carolina. Every home was having some sort of get together on their back patio, as the golfers played through. There were thousands of people out watching...the men in their collared shirts and their plaid shorts and the women in their most fashionable sun dresses. I think that they even had a contest for the best Tartan on Saturday! I just loved that!


-Kristy

March Madness

Parker and I are home now enjoying the Masters on TV. It is the one time of year that when I wake up in the morning, I know that Parker is already out in the living room on the couch with the Masters on.

We had a blast the last two weeks on the road, but even before that we had a great getaway during the week of Puerto Rico/Doral. Parker chose to skip Puerto Rico because we knew that we had a pretty intense schedule coming up. Instead we decided to take a trip up to Montana with friends and escape the golf atmosphere for a bit. We skied Whitefish Mountain the first day, went fly fishing in the freezing cold the second day, then skied again the third day. It was such a great opportunity to be up in the mountains and breathe that fresh air.





It proved to be a great trip because the next week he came back well rested and ready to play. We loved our time in New Orleans once again. I was able to see one of my best friends from college who now lives in the city. That is probably one of the most special parts about all of this travel...all of the great friends and family that we get to see on the road! One of the highlights of the week for me was the luncheon that we had with Emeril Lagasse. We joined with the Fore Kids Foundation and were treated to a demonstration by Emeril himself and then got to enjoy his delicious cooking. Parker and I also enjoyed the annual dinner at Acme Oyster House hosted by the tournament. By our measurements it is one of the most highly attended events by all of the players! Plus March Madness was on tv, you can't get much better than Charbroiled Oysters and basketball. Overall New Orleans was a great week both on and off the golf course, with Parker gaining another Top 15 finish under his belt!



In Houston last week we were faced with some crazy weather. Friday was one of those days where I was following Parker and thinking to myself...what are we still doing out here!!! Finally it got too dark to play (not to mention freezing and wet) and Parker had to come back in the morning to finish his round. Unfortunately his score was not a good indication of how he was playing. I thought he was hitting the ball even better than the week before, it was just one of those weeks where the birdies didn't add up. After a disappointing finish on the 18th hole, we took some time to digest it all and then realized that San Antonio was only 2 1/2 hrs away. We were fortunate enough to get our hands on some tickets to the Final Four (thanks to Parker's amazing agent) and decided to jump in the car and turn our day around! We had a blast and got to watch both games Saturday night. We wished that UCLA would have won but I guess it just wasn't a good sports day all around for us. It was a very special treat to be there none the less!



Now we are home, enjoying some down time before we get on the road again! With the Masters on 24/7 in this house, it just might be a that source of inspiration he needs for our upcoming weeks on the road!
-Kristy

Arnold Palmer Invitational

Right now I am enjoying this Sunday back at home, with the exciting final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational on TV in the background. We FINALLY had HD installed, and WOW, does it makes a world of difference! I know...totally behind on that one. :-)

Parker on the other hand is back out at the golf course in Scottsdale getting a round in with some of his friends, before he heads to the practice range with his coach this week.

Unfortunately, it was a disappointing end to the week, missing the cut at the Bay Hill just by a shot. It was one of those courses that you had to hit it in the fairway and hit greens, otherwise you were penalized. But even though we weren't there on the weekend, it was a special week for both of us. I had the opportunity to visit the Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Babies. We were given the tour of the absolutely amazing facility by the head doctor himself. I know that it was also really special for Parker to be a part of such a prestigious tournament.

(they even assigned your name to a parking spot here!) Another special part of the week was when Arnold Palmer came to say hello during Parker's Monday Pro Am.

On Friday afternoon we watched the cut line closely (with many people thinking it might go to +3), and as it turned out, Parker missed the cut only by one player. So that night we laid low, found a great little Indian Restaurant not to far from our hotel and enjoyed some quality time together... and somehow a quiet night with great food seemed to lift our spirits!

We also changed our flight from Sunday afternoon to Saturday afternoon. Changing flights is something that you just have to deal with out on tour, sometimes you are changing it to accommodate a later tee time, sometimes you are changing it because of a missed cut, and occasionally you get it just right! It is just all part of the travel that we are getting very used to. Thankfully the PGA Tour has an amazing travel agency that is always available (even when you have to call them from the golf course!)

We had Saturday to pack and had a little extra time to spare so we decided to go play miniature golf. Funny enough, Parker and I had never played miniature golf together!!! Not even when we were dating, how ironic! I was pretty proud of myself because I actually held my own. And even beat Parker on one hole! I think it might be all of the "watching" I do! On the score card, I also had a hole in one, but it really shouldn't have counted as a 1, because it actually went in the "yellow" hole, and I was definitely aiming for the "red" hole ;-). We had a great time and I think it helped Parker to relax and have some fun after a long demanding week of golf!




Now we are looking forward to our upcoming travel to New Orleans and Houston, two of our favorite tour spots from last year!
-Kristy

Buenos Dias Amigos!

We just arrived home from Mexico and we are already missing that amazingly blue water, those fish tacos, and our friends in Playa Del Carmen. This was one of our favorite weeks of the year during Parker's rookie season, and we had a amazing time again this year. It's definitely not a bad place to be as an alternative to Tucson (if you are not "yet" in the top 60 in the world). In Mexico, the Tour does a great job of making different activities available during the tournament week so you can really make the most of your trip and appreciate where you are! (sometimes with all of the travel it is easy to just go back and forth to the golf course, and not even know what city you are in?). But not this week...this week we were definitely making the effort to enjoy everything Playa Del Carmen had to offer.


At the beginning of the week we had the opportunity to visit an underground river called "Rio Secreto" or "Secret River." Not knowing exactly what to expect, we took a wild ride in a 4x4 jeep out to the middle of the jungle to the entrance to the river. We went on an hour&1/2 walk and swim through this underground cave. The most unique part of the excursion was when we were about mid way through the cave and our guide asked us all to turn our headlights (on our helmets) off. There was absolutely no difference with your eyes open or shut, and all you could hear were the sounds of the water dripping from the various geological formations surrounding you. It was incredible.


The next day Parker played in the Pro Am and I had the opportunity to swim with the dolphins. This was an amazing experience and something that I have always wanted to do. What surprised me the most was how strong they were. When I looked at the dorsal fin I was almost afraid to grab on to it, but as you can see, I had to hold on like crazy because they swim so fast and are so powerful.

The rest of the week was filled with enjoying our time with our family friends that we stayed with, jumping in the water everyday, and eating amazing food. Our friends have had a home in Playa Del Carmen for 16 years now so they know every local restaurant possible. I think that is what we love the most, finding those hole in the wall places that we would never find without a "local" guiding us. We ate the best shrimp tacos, guacamole, and arrachera all week long. We enjoyed happy hour every night and cribbage games after sunset.


The only downside to the trip was getting "Tourista" or "Montezuma's Revenge." Whatever you want to call it, it was no fun :-(. Ironically, I am the careful one out of the bunch. I am the only one to brush my teeth with bottled water, and I am always conscious of what I am eating, but what can you do? I couldn't seem to pin point what caused it either, I even ate at the golf course that day? I am just glad that Parker steered clear of it. Plus the only thing I missed was a few days of golf...and to be honest, I watch a lot of golf all year long. ;-)

All in All it was an amazing trip! We are excited about being at home for a week and then heading out to Florida for the next few.
Hasta Luego!
-Kristy