4. Firefighter gets Masters invite

Firefighter Parziale receives U.S. Open, Masters exemptions.

Matt Parziale, a firefighter from Brockton, Mass., won a spot in the 2018 Masters with a victory Friday in the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship at Capital City Club in Atlanta.

On Thursday morning Matt Parziale was nearing elimination in the quarterfinal round of the U.S. Mid-Ama- teur Championship. He was even contemplating the earliest flight he could take to get back to Boston.

In a dramatic reversal of fortune, Parziale on Friday afternoon was holding the Robert T. Jones Jr. championship trophy with one hand and invitations to two of golf ’s prestigious tournaments in the other.

Parziale, a firefighter — he’s on Ladder 1 — from Brockton, Mass., ran through Josh Nichols, a wedding caterer from Kernersville, N.C., like he was headed for a three- alarm blaze. With his father, Vic Parziale, on his bag and with a gang of his firefighting buddies from Station 1 in the gallery for support, Parziale got in front early and never let up, pushing his way to an 8 and 6 win in the final Friday at Capital City Club’s Crabap- ple Course in Milton.

The outcome matched the third-largest margin of victory in the 37-year history of the championship, restricted to players 25 and older.

The victory, the fir st national championship for Parziale, guarantees him an exemption into the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills and the 2018 Masters.

“Never been to the U.S. Open. Never been to Augusta, either,” he said. “I haven’t even thought about it. Yeah, it’s back there, but I’ve really not thought about it.”

It was an unexpected turn- around for Parziale, 30, who was down five holes with eight holes remaining in his quarterfinal match. He fought back to win that match on the 20th hole and was a 5 and 4 winner in the semifinals. After stand- ing on the brink of elimina- tion, Parziale won a remarkable 21 of his next 42 holes.

“I felt good, I had some good numbers, and I was able to hit it close,” Parziale said. “That always helps.”

Parziale won the first two holes, but Nichols won the next two to square the match. From that point it was all Par- ziale. He won the next three holes with birdies and was 2 up at the turn. He won four holes on the back nine and was 6 up after the morning round. Parziale made eight birdies and shot 63.

“I didn’t even know I shot 63 until someone texted me after,” Parziale said. “I was just trying to take it one hole at a time. I know that’s what everyone says, but that’s what I did today.”

Not even a break for lunch stopped his momentum for the second 18. Parziale won two of the first three holes and was 8 up after 21 holes. He made a bogey on the 24th hole before carding five consecutive birdies and ending the match on the 30th hole with a birdie.

“My game plan didn’t change even though my golf kind of did,” Parziale said. “I hit some putts weaker than I wanted to, I would say. Maybe a little hesitant, but it worked out.”

Parziale knew his fiancée, Allie, would be arriving for the championship, but he had no idea about his friends. His best buddy Greg Chalas drove down from Indianapolis, and Parziale began to spot various co-workers and friends in the gallery throughout the round.

“They just kept showing up at different times,” he said.