Join us as we travel on the PGA Tour with Parker McLachlin, a former Punahou athlete. McLachlin and Castle alum Dean Wilson are the only Hawai'i golfers on the PGA Tour. McLachlin, Waikoloa's touring pro, will write his impressions on events he has just completed and tournaments coming up on his calendar.

Aloha from Scottsdale! I'm back at home after an exciting week at the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open.

Last week was the first time I had been the defending champion of an event and it was a great experience. The local fans were awesome and very vocal and supportive, offering up cheers throughout the week.

The reaction from the players was great as well. Some joked for me to take it easy on them, while others came asking for advice and counsel on how I played the course so well last year. And having my parents there for the week always makes an event that much better!

As for the golf, I definitely had those great feelings come back, which gave me a wealth of confidence heading into the week. The first day provided brutal conditions, cold temperatures, rain and a lot of wind. My ball striking wasn't where it has been the last couple of weeks, but my short game made up for it in a big way. I chipped in twice, holed out a bunker shot and finished with 22 putts.

I put in some quality time at the range and talked with my coach after the first round and figured some things out. The rest of the week I hit the ball extremely well. Unfortunately, the putts didn't quite fall like they did the first round, but I still played solid and continued to build up the confidence in my golf swing.

This swing change has been a lengthy, and often grueling, process. But the last month I've seen significant improvement and progression and really am taking ownership of my golf swing. The first half of the season I was in a cognitive learning period. Now I feel like I'm in a performance period where I can go out and focus solely on playing golf, not worrying about swing thoughts and changes.

I'm relaxing this week at home before heading to Greensboro (N.C.) for the Wyndham Championship. It's the final event before the FedEx Cup Playoffs and, with a good finish, I could qualify for the playoffs. Making the playoffs is obviously a goal of mine, but my main goal the remainder of the year is to find the winner's circle and get back to Maui.

With next week's event, and the Fall Finish events, I feel like I have a number of tournaments (in places where I've had some past success) to get in contention and find the winner's circle again.

Thanks again for all your support. I'll be back in a couple weeks with a report from Greensboro.

Parker McLachlin can be reached at http://www.parkermclachlin.com