Parsons' Road From Trinkets To Tears
The Age
Monday February 7, 2000
Lucas Parsons had to win this tournament. He has been around a long time; poked his head in here and there. He has promised a lot. Built foundations, only to knock them down through some self-inflicted wounds. The time had come to deliver.
If you are serious about your golf, titles like the Queensland Open and Finnish Masters are souvenirs, trinkets. They are not scalps. They don't put you in the big time. It was time for Parsons to go head-hunting.
And there were big names all around him. Two-time United States Masters winner Jose-Maria Olazabal, three-time Australian Masters winner Craig Parry, Australian Open and Masters winner Peter Senior and Andrew Coltart, a Ryder Cup player.
And everything favored Parsons. The wind that had been furious in the morning had all but blown itself out; it was cool; the greens not too slick that they burnt your nerves and made you twitch.
Early, too, his opponents fell over in front of him. After three holes, it was obvious Olazabal's driver needed a breath-test. The Spaniard took an iron off the fourth tee just to see what the fairways looked like. A double bogey on the par-five eighth saw him throw away his ball in disgust. With the ball went his chances. The champion continues to make changes to his driving, tinkering with his grip and stance. He'll need to sit again for his licence before you would back him to win in the big time.
Wayne Smith, who started confident that his first four-round victory in 12 years was within his grasp, birdied the second to be within a shot, then tripled bogeyed the third. He had played just 15 shots, three holes and his bid was done with. David Park, who began the round level with Parsons, had struggled on Saturday and would struggle again yesterday. The Welshman didn't implode but nor did he ignite. His play was as rough as his lies. He cobbled together scrappy pars, it would tell on his nerves.
Parry, who has spent this tournament on Sydney Harbor in his new boat, challenged as expected but wilted just when you expected him not to. Bogeys on the short ninth and 10th holes sunk him.
Most importantly, Parsons was not distracted. His swing and tempo as smooth as they have ever been, his poor shots were never so dastardly that they cost him. If he found bunkers, he got up and down; if his drive missed the fairway, he recovered; if his iron play was sloppy, his putting wasn't. On the seventh, when he under-clubbed, he chipped in for birdie. He did not bogey one hole. This was a sophisticated round by a man mentally in charge of a technically very good game.
He was at his most vulnerable on the 14th, the par-five across the water. Up ahead, Senior was mustering a charge and about to close the gap to three shots. Parsons cut his drive right and was forced to lay-up. That shot wasn't much good either and he was still in the rough some 140metres from the hole. His third was lousy, too, and was left of the pin and in the left rough. A wonderful touch chip and run, a solid putt and Senior's challenge evaporated. Parsons had stood up to the challenge like never before.
It was a win greeted warmly by the golfing community, which has been privy to Parsons' challenges off the course in the past five years. There has been a failed marriage and its assorted problems. Tournament host Greg Norman talked about ``ups and downs" that had faced the winner, Parsons spoke of hard work, a new fitness regime, the support of close friends such as Michael Campbell, a change of environment and new direction.
His experiences - a flop in the US, stints in Fiji and Vanuatu, the secondary tour in Europe - have been low blows but never have they lowered his own expectations.
Parsons' win has set a new standard not just for himself but for his fellow professionals. As he walked to the 18th green, Parsons cried.
For this was no trinket. Parsons had finally got his scalp.
© 2000 The Age
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