CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM Parker McLachlin's final-round 70 gave him his second top-10 finish on tour and his best result in a PGA event in Hawaii.

McLachlin sticks it out, finishes strong

A sick stomach, renewed tradewinds and a rapid loss of three strokes could have easily marked the end of Parker McLachlin's run at the top 10 in the 2008 Sony Open.

But like he had all tournament, McLachlin forced adversity aside and scraped together a decent even-par round of 70 to finish tied for 10th with a four-round total of 6-under 274.

Only eight of the 68 players still alive at Waialae Country Club managed to shoot below par in their final round in large part due to the resurgent weather, but the 28-year-old Punahou and UCLA graduate recovered from a double bogey on No. 3 to shoot 3 under on the final nine holes.

In the first made cut of a PGA event in his home state, McLachlin earned the second top-10 finish of his young career, taking home $113,571.43 for his efforts. He tied for fifth in the Turning Stone Resort Championship in Vernon, N.Y., in 2007 as a PGA rookie.

McLachlin, the only survivor of five Hawaii-born entrants, absorbed the early lumps and some sporadic accuracy off the tee with an efficient short game. His drives found only five of 14 fairways, but he countered by putting just 25 times, a personal best in the Sony. He went out on the right note by birdieing 18 -- the site of his near double-eagle a day earlier -- with a 4-foot putt in front of a vocal crowd.

"It was just rough, I wasn't feeling great, just grinded it out," "McLachlin said. "You gotta fight through it when you're in a decent position, and fortunately I made a few birdies on the last 10 holes. That sort of seems to be my M.O. for the week. I'm happy the way I finished, especially on the last hole."

He thanked the largest gallery of his PGA career -- which swelled at times to more than 250 people with combined supporters of his partner, Japan's Shigeki Maruyama -- for helping him carry through his illness, described as a "stomach virus."

"The fans and everybody out there just really got me through the day," McLachlin said. "People saying 'Go Parker!' and everything, that really helped lift my spirits." Many of the observers sported hats with that tag.

The round started badly, as thick rough on his second shot forced him to "turn the club" and shank the ball into a water hazard on No. 3. He compounded matters by bogeying No. 7 -- suddenly more than half of his work the day before had been wiped away. But as he was able to do when he found himself 5 over through 10 holes on Thursday, McLachlin turned things around rapidly.

He got in and out of trouble smoothly on No. 9 when he hit his second shot against the base of a observation platform, but chipped to within 12 feet from the rough and nailed the birdie to gain momentum into the turn.

McLachlin's approach shots weren't always sharp, but he was clutch on his par and birdie putts on the back nine with a 6-footer on 11, a 20-footer for birdie on 12, a 5-footer on a difficult lie on 14, and perhaps the most impressive, a 12-foot par save on 15.

When asked what he's taken away from his second-best career finish, McLachlin replied: "Just really that I'm picking up where I left off last year...continuing to move forward and build on the strong finish I had last year in Q-school. If I come out the first week out of the gates and if I take out my 5 over through 10 holes the other day, then I'm right in this golf tournament. That's pretty exciting, so it's a good confidence boost for me. To just know I can really compete and win out here, and that time is coming."