Once in shambles, Parker Bell signals another step in comeback with East Lake heroics

ATLANTA – With one of the best amateurs in the world mounting a comeback against him, Florida senior Parker Bell had every reason to fold under the pressure. Sure, he’d beaten Virginia superstar Ben James a couple years before, but to do it again, after what he’s been through?

Much has changed since Bell’s 19-hole thriller over James in the quarterfinals of the 2023 U.S. Amateur, where James canned a long birdie at No. 16 and then eagled the penultimate hole at Cherry Hills before Bell held him off. Mostly, Bell’s emotions have held him back, his immense power sapped, too, by a crooked driver.

But Bell has turned a corner this fall, and here James was to put Bell’s growth to the ultimate test.

“I knew he was going to do something crazy,” said Bell, who led 4 up with five holes to play Wednesday at East Lake Golf Club, where Bell’s Gators and James’ Cavaliers had earned their places in the match-play final.

On cue, James started to reel Bell in. He earned a gimme birdie at the par-5 14th, then drained a 40-foot bomb at the par-3 15th. When Bell couldn’t get up and down at the par-4 16th, James was suddenly just 1 down.

At that point, the old Bell would’ve been spiraling. While he’s shown flashes in his career to date – he also was a semifinalist at the 2024 Western Amateur and qualified for the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst, almost making the cut – the hard-hitting Bell has often struggled to rein everything in. What good is 200 mph ball speed if one can’t keep their tee balls on the planet? That was Bell’s issue, among several. He couldn’t chip when he got to college, and between the ears, he was a mess.

“I want the guy in front of him and the guy behind him to be able to watch Parker play 18 holes and not know what he shot,” Florida head coach J.C. Deacon said. “The last few years, you know when Parker’s playing great, and you know when he’s playing brutal.”

That was no more evident than last spring’s opener at Pepperdine, where Bell had his “worst tournament ever,” shooting 80-76-78 and beating just one player. He then played the Gators’ home event and closed in 79 to slip to T-38.

“My confidence took a big hit after that,” Bell said. “Nothing was going well. I wasn’t playing well at home. I wasn’t hitting my driver straight. My irons were terrible.

“Everything was really kind of in shambles if we’re being honest.”

Bell wouldn’t hit another shot that semester, and it appeared that his time in Gainesville could be over, especially with roster limits looming. Though the House v. NCAA settlement later granted programs the ability to designate current student-athletes for exemptions, it was still no guarantee that Bell would be kept.

Then came the ultimatum from Deacon: “You’re either going to figure this out and play the right way, or you’re not going to play anymore.”

“I think there were probably some thoughts about transferring and finding some place easier to go,” Deacon added. “We challenged him and told him nothing was going to be given to him, but I believed in him that he could do it, he just needed to grow up and mature a little bit. … If he could just control his emotions and take some of the drama out of his golf game, he’s a great player.”

Finally, Bell was equipped to respond. Long on LS driver guy, Bell switched to the regular model of the TaylorMade Qi35, while bumping the loft from 9 to 10.5 degrees. He started to work it both ways off the tee, too.

“My game all comes together when that part of my game is working, and I’m not really letting the gas off at all with the driver,” said Bell, who’s not missed a tournament for the Gators this fall.

“I knew that I had it in me,” Bell added. “I knew that I still had the ability to do great things. I felt like I was just a couple good tournaments away from taking off.”

After two pedestrian efforts, Bell tied for eighth at Erin Hills, followed by a T-12 at last week’s Williams Cup, where Florida dominated the field for its first win of the season.

He then led the Gators in the nine-hole, stroke-play competition at East Lake, finishing a shot behind the winner, Virginia’s Michael Lee, and dusted Ole Miss freshman Daniel Tolf in the semifinals. Up for the challenge, Bell was hoping to be matched up with James in the final.

“He’s a PGA Tour player,” Bell said of James, the top-ranked player in college golf. “He’s going to be on Tour, probably going to win on Tour, many times. I view him and Jackson [Koivun of Auburn] as the best of the best right now. I wanted to play him, and I wanted to see where my game stacked up because I knew it was going to bring the best out of me.”

When Deacon saw Bell on the par-4 17th hole, Bell’s chances of winning in danger of washing away in a persistent rain, there was a refreshing observation.

“He was so calm,” Deacon said.

A few minutes later, James delivered his biggest uppercut of the day, chipping in for birdie and strutting toward his ball, seemingly in slow motion as to intimidate his opponent, who’d been known to pressurize in this type of situation. But Bell went through his routine and stoically poured in the 10-footer to tie. A little fist pump, then on to the next hole, the par-5 18th, which Bell knew James was going to birdie.

He did, but so, too, did Bell, who pushed his second shot up near the green and then, after a poor chip, stepped up and rolled in the match-winner from 15 feet.

“Really emotional moments, and nothing changed for him,” Deacon said. “He went about his process, and both times, poured that thing in dead center.”

For the Gators, it was their first East Lake Cup victory – and second team title to close what had been an up-and-down semester.

For Bell, it was much more. He’s reversed the plunging trajectory of an up-and-down career, currently No. 39 in the PGA Tour University rankings and now 14 spots from some sort of full-time status once he turns pro next summer. On a deep Gators roster, he’s earned, for once, a vital role.

And those emotions? They’re overwhelming positive, brimming with confidence.

“I really do feel like I can beat anyone right now, which I haven’t felt that way in a long time,” Bell said. “This week, in particular, really proved that to me.”