WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Lucas Parsons

By Rob Mills

A HIGH achieving youngster who transferred his amateur success into the professional ranks, Lucas Parsons not all that long ago traded shots with Australia’s best. 

Runner-up to Zimbabwean Nick Price in the Air New Zealand Open in just his third start as a professional and less than 12 months after dominating the amateur scene, Parsons would go on to win seven Australasian titles. Foremost amongst his triumphs the Greg Norman Holden International, a joint venture event with the European Tour played at Sydney’s Lakes Golf Club. 

Second on the 1999-2000 Order of Merit, Parsons also represented Australia in a World Cup, played the European and US Tours and a handful of major championships.  

Now 53 and resident in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, he rarely gets out onto the course, with circumstances, coupled with a diverse range of interests, resulting in Parsons heading in another direction.

However, despite golf not being his primary focus at the present time, the big fella from Orange in regional NSW has every reason to look back at his golfing achievements with much satisfaction. 

“I’m really proud of what I did. I’ve got about four or five things that are really important to me, dear to my heart, things I’m really proud of,” Parsons began. 

“The Greg Norman was really important to me. The Australian Amateur trophy means so much. That year (1992) was very good to me. The NZ Amateur, State Amateur, Aussie Amateur, undefeated in the interstate series, but there’s something about the Australian Amateur to me. 

“I also have a photo from the Alfred Dunhill – a team’s event in South Africa – (Greg) Norman, (Wayne) Grady, Vijay (Singh). Cambo (Michael Campbell) and I were captain’s picks. A photo of the team with (Nelson) Mandela standing with us. That’s a special one,” Parsons reminisced. 

“I would have loved to play in the Masters, liked to have experienced it but otherwise I’m proud of what I achieved.”

With results somewhat in decline and a failing body, Parsons stepped away from the tournament scene in 2008, opening a café in a bookstore close to home, which was owned by his mother-in-law Tanya. 

“I love food, I love cooking food and I love coffee. The café was something I felt like I could get up and do every day and I had this opportunity where I could put it in a bookstore,” Parsons said.

It wouldn’t be long though before Parsons found himself back on TV screens, not showing off his ability to hit drivers and long irons, rather whipping up a Chili Mud Crab as a part of the MasterChef reality show. 

“Weirdly, I opened the café and within two weeks MasterChef came about,” he recalled. 

“My wife Simone and I used to watch the British MasterChef and she knew that I loved it and put me in without telling me. All of a sudden, I got a ticket to audition. I was one of 7000 people from around Australia.

“It was an amazing experience. We were the first Australia MasterChef, which is different to the British version and now 180 countries copy our show,” he said.

With Simone running another successful business and after the café and bookstore was sold, Parsons was happy to take on the role of house dad to his kids Lucia and Oscar, now 15 and 13, before a potential comeback to senior golf briefly entered the equation. But without the ability to put in the necessary work, his return to the course fell short. 

“I had a shoulder reconstruction when I was 49, thought maybe I could practice but after about six weeks I knew I was done. I can play, I’m a little tender the next day, but I can’t practice,” Parsons explained. 

“I don’t think I could’ve been away from my kids for a week at a time anyway. I’m with them every day.”

But rather than remaining idle, the couple have since jumped headfirst into another family-run venture, this one of a very different kind.  

“The business is called Comic Collector. It’s probably going to be a year before we release it into the market. We want 2000-5000 items up on the website before we release it. Comics are a huge industry. They are very obsessed the comic people. 

“My father-in-law collected comics for almost 70 years. We have about 70,000 comics. It’s going to be 20 years of work. We’ve got the product, now we’ve just got to sell it. I’m a researcher, categorising and organising, I’ve turned a bit OCD with organisation, which I definitely wasn’t like in my 20s. 

“We’re new into it, but I enjoy it. It’s a family business, Simone is very good at it,” Parsons said.

Golf was something Parsons was very good at however right at the moment he is content and happy as a ‘comic book entrepreneur’ of sorts, as well as a doting dad, while looking back with pride on a golfing career well played.