SONY OPEN IN HAWAII

January 14, 2021

Parker McLachlin

Waialae Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. How would you assess your round of play today?

PARKER McLACHLIN: Yeah, I played pretty decent. Made a bunch of birdies but also made some sort of silly, rusty mistakes. You know, kind of gave away a couple shots on the last two holes by missing a 4- or 5-footer for birdie on 17 and not making birdie on 18.

Yeah, a little disappointed but all in all, 70, kind of first tournament of the year, fairly pleased with it.

Q. This is your 11th Sony Open now, how weird is it without spectators?

PARKER McLACHLIN: Yeah, it feels like when I was growing up here playing as a 12-, 13-, 14-year-old, going out and playing nine holes and not having anybody out there. It kind of felt a bit more like that today. Definitely there was not much energy out there. But at the same time, I think a lot of that emotion for me was kind of nice to just be able to focus on what I was trying to do and try to just keep my head down and I didn't have to look up and say "hi" to people that hadn't seen in years, so that was kind of nice.

Q. So when you worked at Waialae, how soon after starting was it that you began to dream about playing here as a pro?

PARKER McLACHLIN: I started working here at 12 years old, and I started cleaning the golf shop, vacuuming the pro shop, taking down the flags, taking out the trash, cleaning out the bathrooms and eventually worked my way into the cart barn.

I'd say, probably when I was 16 was when I really had that first sort of vision of like, okay, I could see myself playing in this tournament.

I think when I was 12, I was just so enamored with all the guys and I never thought I could hit a golf ball the way that those two pros were hitting it. But I think around 16, I started seeing that; I can actually play in this golf tournament.

Q. It do you flashback to those memories when you step on the pro, and what is it like?

PARKER McLACHLIN: Yeah, I had a couple moments today out on the golf course where I just had some flashbacks, like, oh, man, I remember being behind this tree or hitting this kind of shot. We used to come out after like 3:30 and we would be able to go walk nine holes until it got dark. So just lots of really good memory, and I definitely had a couple of flashbacks like that today.

But the technology the way that it is, I never hit it in some of the spots that I'm hitting it now, that's for sure.

Q. Can you describe a moment or situation today where no fans and the quiet really hit home with you on the course?

PARKER McLACHLIN: Yeah, probably when I made like three birdies in four holes, and you know, I made a putt there on No. 1 and there was like one clap from the roof of the Kahala, like the 13th floor, there was one clap and I was like, that's really weird. Usually I'll have a couple hundred, a few hundred people that would be out here, and they like to get rowdy when I make birdies. They have nicknamed themselves the beers for birdies club, so every time I make a birdie, they go get a beer.

It was a little bit weird when I made a couple birdies and there was no one really there to celebrate it.

Q. And a couple comments on locals, Eric Dugas and also Evan Kawai.

PARKER McLACHLIN: Yeah, I just got to know Evan over social media in the last couple of weeks. We exchanged some messages. I don't really know Eric, but I know he's a great player.

Yeah, looking forward to seeing how Evan does today. I was able to watch him swing a little bit. He's got a nice golf swing and he's got a good future in front of him. Excited he has the opportunity today.