Ex-NBA player reveals ‘most embarrassing’ story from LPGA pro-am

In addition to spending nearly a decade playing in the NBA, Chandler Parsons is quite a stick on the course — and he has a trophy from this year’s 8AM Invitational to prove it. Parsons won the event with partner Blake Griffin.

The 6-foot-10-inch baller joined hosts Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz for a chat on this week’s episode of Subpar, and Parsons’ prowess on the links dominated the first half of the conversation.

The interview was conducted ahead of July’s American Century Championship, where Parsons had 40/1 odds to win. (He ended up T44.)

Parsons is becoming a regular on the celebrity pro-am circuit, and shared his experience playing in front of a crowd at this year’s Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions on the LPGA Tour.

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“I played in this LPGA [pro-am], the Grand Hilton one, in Orlando, which that was like a real tournament on TV,” Parsons said. “But I don’t even care about the fans. Like I’m not — it’s not what I did for a living, like, I’m fine. It is a little nerve-wracking when they’re lining up and I hit this big lofty, like, cut, fade, whatever you want to call it. It’s a push, whatever. It’s not intentional.

“But I’m telling them to, like, hey, I might hit you. And they just don’t move.”

Parsons said the most difficult part of that tournament was the fact that he was playing alongside a pro who was also competing for an individual title — and big prize money.

“But the most embarrassing part is, in that tournament, you have to play with a pro who’s playing for like a million bucks,” Parsons continued. “She has to watch that swing and then go.”

Parsons played alongside Danielle Kang, Nelly Korda and Leona Maguire that week, and he said Maguire didn’t say much to him.

“She said, like, six words but she was super-nice, because again, they’re like working and I’m like, shotgunning White Claws with fans,” Parsons said with a laugh. “There was, like, six times she told me to stop.

“That was the most nerve-wracking part, was actually playing with good golfers.”

For more from Parsons, including how golf has filled the NBA void in his life, listen to the full episode below.

Golf.com Editor

As a four-year member of Columbia’s inaugural class of female varsity golfers, Jessica can out-birdie everyone on the masthead. She can out-hustle them in the office, too, where she’s primarily responsible for producing both print and online features, and overseeing major special projects, such as GOLF’s inaugural Style Is­sue, which debuted in February 2018. Her origi­nal interview series, “A Round With,” debuted in November of 2015, and appeared in both in the magazine and in video form on GOLF.com.

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