Blog: McLachlin happy to be in elite field at Bay Hill

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Aloha from Bay Hill and the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

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Parker McLachlin met Arnold Palmer for the first time last week at Bay Hill.

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This is a pretty great atmosphere for me to be in. This is the first invitational that I have been a part of on the PGA TOUR. My good play at the beginning of the year has paid off and has brought me into this elite field with Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, and Vijay Singh. It's pretty cool for me to be one of the 120 guys to be invited to play in Arnold Palmer's tournament.

On Monday, I got to meet Mr. Palmer for the first time. It was a pretty special moment for me. He was having breakfast at the table next to me on Monday, and I went over to shake his hand. In just the five minutes I got to spend with him, you get to see how charismatic and what a special guy he is. You can really see that sparkle in his eye. It's clear to see why there were so many people in "Arnie's Army" when he was playing in his prime.

When talking to Arnold, you just sort of follow his lead. There is never any 'awkward silence' when you talk to him. He brings so much to the table.

You take your cues from the King.

I also switched caddies this week for the first time on the PGA TOUR. Scott Gneiser is my new caddy and he is an 11-time winner on the TOUR with David Toms, including the 2001 PGA Championship. He started this week, and so far it's been great. Any time you can have a caddy who has won so many times on TOUR, they really know how to handle themselves. There isn't a situation on TOUR that his hasn't seen. He won't be fazed by anything that he is going to see out there because he's seen it all. His calmness will be a great addition to what I have going.

You really notice an event that Tiger and Phil are playing in. There is more media attention. There is more of a 'buzz' around the course. This tournament, to me, feels more like a major than some of the other tournaments that I played in earlier this year or last year. It's a great learning experience to be a part of this atmosphere. A lot of tournaments that you played last year were great events, but there is something to be said about playing in a tournament with so many of the top 50 in the world.

Needless to say, I'm very excited to be a part of this tournament this week. It's a cool atmosphere and hopefully I'll be able to be in contention on Saturday and Sunday.

Mahalo for now,
Parker