Parziale’s dream round with Tiger
AUGUSTA, Ga. – Matt Parziale had the round of a lifetime at Augusta National.
And on Thursday, he’ll play the Masters.
The U.S. Mid-Amateur champion played a practice round Wednesday with Tiger Woods, who just happened to be Parziale’s idol when he was growing up.
“It was great,” Parziale said. “I’ve always wanted to play with him.”
Woods can be — how shall we say it? — intense on the golf course, even in practice rounds. But he’s mellowed since the back injury that threatened his career, and Woods and Parziale looked more like two buddies who’d snuck out of the office for an afternoon round rather than players trying to prepare for the year’s first major.
They laughed and smiled frequently during the round and often walked together up the fairway. When they had to wait on the eighth, Woods and Parziale spent about five minutes chitchatting with their caddies on the side of the hole while Fred Couples, who played with them, waited up ahead.
“He’s kind, he’s a great guy,” Parziale said of Woods. “He’s great to talk to, whether we were talking about life or talking about how to play the course. It was great conversation and great company.”
A great help, too.
No matter how many times you watch the Masters on television, it can’t prepare you for playing it. Augusta National is far hillier than it looks. And no matter how often you hear about the diabolical greens, everyone is always surprised by how slick and deceptive they are.
It’s a course where experience is as important as any club, and Woods was more than happy to share his. He could often be seen gesturing to spots on the course and pointing out breaks on the greens to Parziale.
“It was a great nine holes. But we’re all just still trying to prepare for the tournament, so it was a good addition, I would say,” Parziale said.
“He went through a lot of stuff, the way some putts break that you don’t see,” he added. “People who come here for the first time, that’s what they don’t see right away, so he was trying to show me those areas.”
Parziale played at Southeastern University and spent three years on the mini-tours after college. But he soon realized he couldn’t make a longterm career out of golf and returned to his hometown of Brockton, Mass., and became a firefighter.
The schedule — he typically works a 24-hour shift, gets two days off, works another 24hour shift and then has four days off — allows him to play amateur events. (He regained his eligibility when he became a firefighter.)
Parziale had played the MidAm three times before last year, never winning a match. But last year the event was at Capital City Club, on the Crabapple course where Woods won the WGC event in 2004.
Sure enough, Parziale won, earning him a spot in this year’s Masters.
Woods sent Parziale a letter congratulating him — they have a mutual friend in Joe LaCava, Woods’ caddie — and that ultimately led to Wednesday’s practice round.
“We really had a lot of fun. He’s a terrific kid and we had a really good time,” Woods said afterward. “I’m really impressed by his game. He’s a very good player.”
Woods always draws some of the biggest galleries at the Masters, and that’s definitely the case this year, his first appearance at Augusta National in three years. But if Parziale was nervous in the spotlight, he didn’t show it, looking as if playing with Tiger Woods is something he does on a regular basis.
His friends, however, were a different story.
“We were standing up against the rope. They were walking off the tee, and I thought, ‘ OK, I can go now. I’m done,’ ” said Brian Higgins, one of nine guys who play amateur events with Parziale.
“I’ve never been more happy for another individual.”
No matter where Parziale finishes this week, he’s the big winner at the Masters.