2023 U.S. Amateur Semifinalist Parker Bell Reflects on His Performance at Cherry Hills Country Club8/24/2023
Alex Elias
(Chris Keane/USGA)
Reflecting on his mindset ahead of the 2023 U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills Country Club (Cherry Hills Village, CO), rising Sophomore at the University of Florida, Parker Bell admitted, "I definitely thought I had the game to make the Match Play, but I don’t know if I can say, 'I thought I was going to win.'"
As for when Bell realized he could win the U.S. Am, Bell said, "Once I got past Maxwell [Ford], and I got to the Quarterfinal Match vs. Ben James, I believed I could win the U.S. Am. When my confidence is high, I feel like I can compete with anyone."
Defeating Bryce Lewis (Round of 64, 2&1), Jacob Modleski (Round of 32, 3&2), Maxwell Ford (Round of 16, 5&4), and Ben James (Quarterfinals) in 19 holes, Bell credited much of his success to his superb play off the tee, saying, "Off the tee is probably my biggest strength, when it's going well, which translates well to Match Play."
"In Match Play, I’m able to free up a little bit more because if you hit one off line, you might make bogey or double, but you only lose one hole," said Bell. Although Bell credited much of his success to his superb play off the tee, a recent equipment change proved to be instrumental in his success as well. Bell said, "I actually put a new putter (L.A.B. Golf Mezz. 1) in the bag right before the U.S. Am. I had never used it in competition, and I had only used it in three other rounds." As for the reason behind the change, Bell said, "The putter I had before, I had no confidence with. That was what was holding me back. I knew I was hitting the ball so well, and I knew I was hitting it too well to be finishing where I was finishing." 
(Kathryn Riley/USGA)
Following his win vs. James, the 7th ranked player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, and ahead of his Semifinal Match, vs. Nick Dunlap, ranked 5th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, Bell received a phone call from Florida alum and 7-time PGA Tour Winner, Billy Horschel. Bell said, "Nick, was obviously regarded as one of the best players heading into the tournament, him and Gordon [Sargent], but he told me, 'You don't have to change anything. You don’t have to do anything special. Just keep playing your game. If you get down in the match, don’t press.'"
Reflecting on the Semifinal Match, Bell said, "The night before I played Nick, I didn’t sleep well. Knowing what I was playing for the next day was definitely on my mind, but once I got out there I was surprised at how much I could lock in and focus." "Sometimes when I get nervous, I'll start hitting it everywhere, but against Nick, I played really solid and he had to play pretty damn well to beat me. I was impressed with myself and proved I compete and go toe to toe with the best," said Bell.
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