Quick turnaround

Massachusetts firefighter Parziale makes cut

The Massachusetts birthplace of boxing champions Rocky Marciano and Marvin Hagler will have another favorite son to root for this weekend. Massachusetts firefighter Parziale makes cut The Massachusetts birthplace of boxing champions Rocky Marciano and Marvin Hagler will have another favorite son to root for this weekend. Brockton firefighter and Mid-Amateur champion Matt Parziale made the cut at the U.S. Open on Friday, the first Mid-Am to survive the first two rounds since 2003. So while big names like Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy will be going home, Parziale will be at Shinnecock Hills on Father’s Day with his dad, Vic, as his caddie. “I don’t know why you wouldn’t dream and try to do the best you can,” said Parziale, who also earned an invitation to the Masters with his Mid-Am victory but missed the cut. “Anything is possible,” he said. “It’s been up and down, but I’ve always enjoyed trying to get better.” Parziale was one of three amateurs to make the cut, which was at 148, or 8 over. Will Grimmer was the low amateur through 36 holes at 5 over, and Luis Gagne was 6 over. Parziale had to sweat it out after a bogey on No. 17 put him at 8 over — the projected cut line at the time — before a birdie on No. 18 gave him a little breathing room. Well, maybe sweat isn’t the right word. For a guy who makes his living fighting fires, golf isn’t exactly the hardest part of his week. “Being a firefighter is complete chaos, and this is more controlled. You’re by yourself. Firefighting, you’re part of a team,” said Parziale, whose father also was a firefighter in the Boston suburb that calls itself the City of Champions. “I would never want the two to cross. They’re both separate, and I like keeping them that way.” First-round co-leader Scott Piercy didn’t need social media to straighten things out after playing his first nine holes at 3 over on Friday. He had three birdies (and a bogey) on the last six holes to finish at 1 over and even par for the tournament. The 2016 U.S. Open runner-up had such an awful practice round on Wednesday that he watched videos he had posted on Instagram to figure out his swing. He came out Thursday and shot 1 under — one of four golfers in the overnight lead. Friday didn’t start out so well. Starting on the back nine, he was 3 over when he got to the fourth hole and rattled off back-to-back birdies. After a bogey on the eighth hole, he finished with another birdie on No. 9. “When you get kicked in the teeth on 16, three-putting from four feet, you better wake up,” he said. “So I really tried to keep my emotions in check, even though I was kind of (angry).”

Rocky Reed

Masters champion Patrick Reed will need some low scores on the weekend if there is going to be a Grand Slam this year. Reed won his first major in April at Augusta National and opened with a 73 on a very difficult first day at Shinnecock Hills, four strokes behind the leaders. He shot 72 in the second round but fell to nine strokes back as Dustin Johnson improved to 4 under. Reed started on the back nine and had two early bogeys to set him back. He birdied No. 18, only to give back two more strokes on his second nine. A birdie at the par-5 fifth was followed by four pars as Reed never truly threatened to become a factor.