For UF’s Parker Bell, Dream of Playing in U.S. Open — at Pinehurst — Was Years in Making

By Ashleigh Lucas, Sports@CJC

PINEHURST, N.C. — Dressed head to toe in a black, tweed golf cap, a red sweater vest with black-and-white patches and knee-length navy knickers, then fourth-grade student Parker Bell was ready to present to his classmates decked out as his idol: Payne Stewart.

“I feel like I was born with a golf club in my hand,” he proudly said to the class.

Parker Bell’s fourth-grade presentation was on 1999 U.S. Open champion Payne Stewart. (Courtesy Ricky Bell)

Turns out, Bell wasn’t too far off.

The iconic image of Stewart with his right fist pumped in the air and right leg kicked out behind him celebrating his 1999 U.S. Open win is prominent all over Pinehurst, North Carolina, including the No. 2 course where this year’s U.S. Open golf championship took place.

From a little boy dressed as the 1999 champion to a 20-year-old amateur taking on the golf world at Pinehurst, the now University of Florida sophomore golfer has long had the game in his blood.

This year, the Tallahassee native took his first big step to achieving his dream of becoming a professional golfer — playing at the 124th U.S. Open alongside the best in the world.

“[Pinehurst] is the home of golf here for America,” Bell said. “It’s pretty cool to be playing my first major at this place, so I’m super excited.”

Parker Bell, a 20-year-old from Tallahassee, is only the 17th UF golfer in school history to play in the U.S. Open as an amateur. (Ashleigh Lucas/WRUF)

A Difficult Adjustment

Entering his second season in Gainesville, Bell was stuck at the bottom of UF’s roster. After committing to play for the Gators as a ninth-grader, he appeared in only four tournaments as a freshman and was not a factor in the Gators’ run to the 2023 national title.

The minute Bell got on campus, UF men’s head golf coach J.C. Deacon knew what Bell needed to do to develop. The skill was always there, Deacon said, but Bell still had much to learn. Although his playing time was limited, Bell spent his time studying the seasoned players on the team, established guys like Fred Biondi, Ricky Castillo and Yuxin Lin.

“If you put the right group of young men together, they all make each other better,” Deacon said. “I think Parker just started to realized ‘If I can learn how these guys do things, I’ve got a chance to be pretty special myself.'”

During the offseason, Bell put in the work, training for long hours alongside Deacon. That allowed him to grow and mature — on and off the course.

As a sophomore, Bell became a consistent presence in Florida’s lineup, playing in 13 of UF’s 14 tournaments. In regional play, Bell finished T8 after shooting 4-under 212 for the tournament to help lead the Gators back to the national championships in Carlsbad, California.

“He plays pretty good every time we tee it up now,” Deacon said.”He’s become a definite threat out there.”

And that threat became apparent at 6:56 a.m. Thursday, when Bell carded the first birdie of the U.S. Open to briefly hold a share of the tournament lead.

Bell became the seventh active Gators golfer to play in the U.S. Open as an amateur since 2000, joining a group that included current PGA Tour pro Billy Horschel (2006) — the only other Gator in the Pinehurst field.

But after his opening birdie, Bell quickly learned why Pinehurst No. 2 is considered one of golf’s toughest tests. He bogeyed his next three holes in succession.

Off the tee, the 6-foot-2 Bell was the longest hitter in the field, averaging an eye-popping 359 yards per drive — 47 yards longer than the field average.

Despite his length off the tee, Bell was more inconsistent with his approach shots and around the greens. Hitting several shots into the wire grass — or even sometimes into the trees — he still was able to mostly navigate around trouble and limit the damage. However, two double bogeys (on Nos. 8 and 16) came back to bite Bell en route to an opening-round 7-over 77.

“I feel like I threw away a lot of shots,” Bell said. “I was a little nervous and tight [Thursday], especially early on.”

On Friday, with little to lose, Bell bounced back and played his best golf of the week. Despite another slow start — back-to-back bogeys to open his second round — Bell settled in with seven pars and a birdie over his next eight holes.

Bell finished his Open in memorable fashion, birdieing three of his final six holes — each accompanied by a loud roar from the more than 20 friends and family members who came to support him — to shoot an even-par 70 in his second round.

“This is typical him,” his father Ricky Bell said. “This is what he does. When he’s behind the 8-ball he fights to come back.”

Despite the rally, at 7-over for the tournament, Bell missed the cut by just two strokes — but finished ahead of big names like Jason Day, Rickie Fowler, Dustin Johnson and Justin Thomas. His two-round score of 147 was the same as Tiger Woods’.

“A year ago, he wasn’t even close to something like this,” Deacon said. “And now he beat a lot of the best players in the world straight up.”

Parker Bell’s family, including his brother Riley Bell (center) and mother Shelly Bell (left), celebrate after Bell’s birdie on No. 4 during the second round of the U.S. Open in Pinehurst, N.C., Friday, June 14, 2024. (Ashleigh Lucas/WRUF)

A Family Affair

For Riley Bell, 38, Parker’s older half-brother, there was no place he’d rather be than watching Parker live out his dream at Pinehurst.

Parker’s U.S. Open debut wasn’t the only thing Riley was celebrating on this particular weekend. Sunday was a day full of lots of celebration, as both his 38th birthday and Father’s Day coincided with the final round of the major golf championship.

He piled his wife and two kids into the car and drove all the way from Florida to show support for his little brother.

“It’s surreal,” he said. “It’s hard to believe he’s playing with some of the best in the world. He has a drive to prepare unlike anybody, so he belongs here.”

Riley remembers the first time Parker picked up a golf club, where the two would often play the game in the name of brotherly competition. Roughly 18 years Parker’s senior, Riley said he can’t recall if there was a moment he was ever better than him.

“He just had a natural ability to hit it straight and hit it far,” he said. “From the time he picked up a club, he had unbelievable hand-eye coordination.”

In one of the very first tournaments Parker played in, Riley said he knew he had to score 35 on nine holes to win — and that’s exactly what he did.

“He’s the most determined young man I’ve ever seen,” he said. “He gets his mind fixated on something and he gets so locked in that he can do anything.”

And Bell’s sheer determination is what got him to Pinehurst.

Support … And Sacrifice

UF’s Parker Bell (right) hits his shot while his caddie, Thomas “Tank” Lawson, (left) watches at the U.S. Open in Pinehurst, N.C., Thursday, June 13, 2024. (Ashleigh Lucas/WRUF)

But his biggest calming and motivating influence between holes was his caddie — and cousin — Thomas “Tank” Lawson. And Lawson had to make some sacrifices of his own.

Originally scheduled to take the MCAT exam the week of the Open, Lawson dropped everything — including a summer class at Florida State — to be on the bag for Bell.

Lawson caddied for Bell in the Dallas sectional qualifier to get to the Open, so he said it was important for him to see it through. Although he rescheduled the MCAT, he plans to caddie for Bell again in August at the U.S. Amateur Championships.

“He’s the best player I’ve ever played with,” he said. “It’s just cool to see him chase his dream and realize he can compete at this level.”

Bell’s parents, Ricky and Shelly Bell, said they will never forget the moment he qualified for the U.S. Open. Bell earned a spot in the final-round qualifier at the Dallas Athletic Club on May 20 after surviving a seven-man playoff for one of the final six spots — and beating out 2017 Masters champion Sergio Garcia in the process.

Taylor Bell, Parker’s little brother by 11 months — although a full-fledged Seminoles fan — was rooting for his favorite Gator from the very start. Taylor broke the news to his family that Parker secured a spot for the Open.

The family may not have been in Dallas, but hearing the news that he made it started a trail of happy tears.

“Our hearts were just bursting with joy,” his mother Shelly said. “I was crying, my youngest son Taylor was crying, Ricky was crying — just an amazing feeling.”

At his side the entire week, Bell had more than 20 family members and friends cheering him on as he carved his path into Pinehurst’s No. 2 golf course.

“It really is a family affair,” Shelly said. “He got into golf because of his grandpa, so to see him grow and develop this talent, it really has been with family support behind him.”

More than 20 friends and family members came to Pinehurst to support Parker Bell as he played in his first major tournament. (Special to Sports@CJC)

With each hole he walked, his family was right there beside him shouting, “Let’s go, P!” regardless of his score.

Although he missed the cut, Bell said playing in his first major at 20 was the experience of a lifetime.

“I’m living my dream right now,” Bell said. “This is what I want to do when I get older, but just to have them here definitely means a lot.”

The fourth-grade Payne Stewart lookalike made it right back to where the renowned golfer starred 25 years ago.

The clothes may be a little too tight now, but the love for the game remains, pushing him one step closer to achieving his dreams.

“[Playing in the U.S. Open] was definitely a lot of fun … Looking back, I think I have what it takes to play out here,” Bell said. “To be pretty close [to making the cut] definitely gives me the confidence that I can compete. When I look back at the leaderboard, I beat a lot of good players today.

“I’ve proven to myself that I can do it.”

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