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 will write his impressions on events he has completed and upcoming tournaments on his calendar.

Aloha from Scottsdale.

I'm at home this week after three consecutive tournaments. It's been a few weeks since I've updated you, so I'll take you back a couple weeks to the Frys.com Open, which took place here in Scottsdale.

It's always great getting to play an event in your own backyard. The obvious things like sleeping in your own bed are always great, but I also appreciate some of the smaller things, like having a full closet of clothes to choose from.

We had a full house the entire week with my dad and Kristy's dad coming in town, as well as my caddy and coach staying at the house. We had a big group over for pizza, beer and wine on Tuesday and had a great week entertaining people at the new house.

Although the tournament was in Scottsdale, I hadn't played Grayhawk Golf Club (host of the tournament) that much. Despite my lack of familiarity with the course, I had another solid week making the cut and building up confidence with my swing under tournament pressure, particularly on the weekend. The swing is really coming around and I'm now able to devote less practice time on the mechanics of the swing and focus more on hitting different types of shots (as well as putting more time into my short game).

This past week, I was just outside of Madison, Miss., for the Viking Classic. As you may have seen, the tournament was canceled on Saturday morning after more than two inches of rain fell the previous few days. In fact, the area had received more than 24 inches the past month. Despite all the rain, the golf course was in great shape when I played in the pro-am on Wednesday afternoon.

But significant rain on Wednesday night caused the postponement until Friday and more rain on Friday afternoon forced them to cancel the tournament altogether. It was frustrating having to play the waiting game, but luckily the practice facilities were open and I spent a majority of the time challenging Ryuji Imada, Charley Hoffman, Ricky Barnes and Eric Axley to a putting competition.

I feel bad for all the fans, volunteers, charities, workers and sponsors who put significant time into preparing for the great event. Viking, the title sponsor, had put together a fantastic tournament and it's unfortunate that something that's out of everyone's control forced the cancellation of the event.

I have this week off as I prepare for the final event on the 2009 schedule, the Children's Miracle Network Classic in Disney World. I've got a member-member up at my home course, Whisper Rock, this weekend and will continue to work on my game so I can finish off the season on a high note. I'll check back in with you after next week. Thanks again for all the support.

Mahalo.

Parker McLachlin can be reached at www.parkermclachlin.com