Slow and steady works for Coral Academy alum in Nevada State Am

Jackson Parrish isn’t sure he could have won the Nevada Men’s State Amateur in the past, even though he’s posted some extremely low scores.

What he didn’t have was the maturity it takes to win a big event in difficult conditions. That, he said, was the key to his victory Sunday at Boulder Creek Golf Club.

“I played well, but it wasn’t like this was the best golf I’ve ever played,” Parrish said. “But it was the best I’ve managed, which is why I think it’s probably the one I’m most proud of. I had a few situations where I had to show a lot of maturity in my decisions.”

That missing element came from a variety of sources, he said. Experience played a big part, learning that sometimes the safe shot is better than trying to be a hero. But Parrish also credits his college coach at Cal Poly, Phil Rowe, who took over the Mustangs program in 2020 after several years as a UNLV assistant.

Rowe has preached to his players over the years to “always handle the first obstacle first,” Parrish said.

“If you’re behind a tree off the fairway, handle the first obstacle — the tree — and get the ball back in play. Don’t look too far ahead,” Parrish said.

Those lessons helped in the State Amateur, where Parrish found himself in the desert on a couple of occasions after wayward drives.

“I’m a really aggressive player and have always enjoyed hitting crazy recovery shots and just trying to see what is possible to be done with a golf ball,” he said. “And that’s gotten me into trouble at times.”

Parrish also took a different approach to the overall tournament on a course he has played countless times.

“I’m convinced that the reason I won this golf tournament was because I told myself that I didn’t need to go super low, because everybody else thought they needed to,” he said.

Parrish played steady, conservative golf, while his opposition found themselves losing strokes with aggressive play, he said. His plan paid off with winds blowing in excess of 25 mph, temperatures soaring to well over 100 degrees and two of the three rounds including some rain.

He shot three rounds in the 60s — 68, 69, 68 — to finish at 11-under 205 for a four-stroke victory over Matt Mitchell and Grant McKay. Four others were another shot back.

“It was tough, the toughest I’ve probably ever seen Boulder Creek play,” said Parrish, a 2021 graduate of Coral Academy who played high school golf for Liberty.

His claim is backed up by the fact he shot 62 during a practice round in benign conditions two days before the tournament began.

Parrish now heads back to Cal Poly for his senior season. He hopes to improve on his 73.3 scoring average next year and help the Mustangs to a conference title.

“I still haven’t gotten a college win yet, so I would love to get one of those,” Parrish said. “Everybody is really good, so, I mean, I think a win at some point throughout the season would be great.”

Growing family

Any hope golf fans had of Inbee Park getting back on the LPGA Tour soon were dashed by the Hall of Fame golfer last week.

Park, who splits time between South Korea and Las Vegas, has not played on tour since the 2022 Women’s British Open. She gave birth to her daughter last May.

“I want to share good news today with you all,” Park wrote on her 36th birthday on Instagram. “We are expecting to become a family of 4 this year! We are very delighted to welcome our new baby.”

Park has won 21 times on the LPGA Tour, including seven major victories. She also won the gold medal at the 2016 Olympics.

Greg Robertson covers golf for the Review-Journal. Reach him at grobertson@reviewjournal.com.