Q&A: Parker McLachlin

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Parker Mclachlin poses with the trophy one year ago after winning the 2008 Legends Reno-Tahoe Open. His quest to defend his title begins Thursday.

Aug. 5, 2009
By Laury Livsey, PGA TOUR Staff

Parker McLachlin won his first PGA TOUR event when he rolled to a seven-stroke win at the 2008 Legends Reno-Tahoe Open. McLachlin defends his title beginning Thursday at Montreux Golf and Country Club. He returns to Nevada hoping to recapture some of the magic he displayed a year ago when he broke the tournament record for widest victory margin. McLachlin, a native of Honolulu who played college golf at UCLA and now resides in Scottsdale, Ariz, recently visited with Laury Livsey of the PGA TOUR's communications staff to discuss pickup basketball with President Barack Obama, a friendly round of golf with Michael Jordan and whether or not he, as a native Hawaiian, is a haole or not.

Q. What's your favorite plate lunch when you're home in Hawaii?

PARKER MCLACHLIN: Beef stew over rice.

Q. What off-the-beaten path place do you like to visit in the Aloha State?

PARKER MCLACHLIN: Makapuu Beach. It's just past Sandy Beach. It's one of those cool places. Small, little beach. Great body surfing away from the touristy places.

Q. If I handed you a basketball right now, and you took 10 college-range 3-pointers, how many would you make?

PARKER MCLACHLIN: I'd probably make seven. Maybe eight. At the gym I go to at home, they have a basketball court there, and I shoot for 20 or 30 minutes before I get my workout in. Yeah, I've always been a gym rat.

Q. When was the last time you played a pickup game?

PARKER MCLACHLIN: The last time was with President Obama when he was President-elect Obama.

Q. How many texts would you estimate you received after you won in Reno in 2008?

PARKER MCLACHLIN: Probably over a hundred. My phone didn't have enough memory, and I had to keep erasing them.

Q. What was the last college football game you went to?

PARKER MCLACHLIN: It was UCLA vs. Washington at the Rose Bowl in November of 2007 (a 44-31 Bruin victory).

Q. Do you follow University of Hawaii football at all?

PARKER MCLACHLIN: I do. I followed them more when June Jones was coaching because we played a bit of golf together and we would text each other. But I still look and keep an eye on them and what they're doing.

Q. Who is the most famous celebrity you've played golf with?

PARKER MCLACHLIN: Um, Jordan. I played with him when I was a senior in high school.

Q. I'm assuming you mean Michael Jordan?

PARKER MCLACHLIN: Yeah. He was scheduled to play out at Waialae Country Club (home of the PGA TOUR's Sony Open in Hawaii). His people had called, asking to set up a game for him. The pro at Waialae was my teacher, Greg Nichols, and so he said, "I got Michael coming out. Do you want to play with him?" I was 17. It worked out.

Q. It worked out? You played golf as a 17-year-old with Michael Jordan, and "it worked out?"

PARKER MCLACHLIN: Yeah, but I was extremely intimidated. I had played the golf course, what, 100 times. And I think I went out and shot 77. There were five of us. Michael, me, Corey Nakatani, the jockey, and then two pros from in the shop came out and played.

Q. What are your three favorite courses?

PARKER MCLACHLIN: Cypress Point, Shinnecock Hills and Oakmont.

Q. Are you considered a "haole" in Hawaii?

PARKER MCLACHLIN: It depends on who you ask. If you talk to Dean Wilson, he calls me a "haole" all the time. But back in Hawaii, I think I'm a local haole. You have fair skin and blue eyes but you've been in Hawaii your whole life. My family has been there since the early '60s. You become part of the community, and that's what I am, a local haole.