First Round For Brockton Firefighter At The Masters Complete

AUGUSTA, GA — The first round of the Masters is in the books for Brockton's favorite native golfer. Part-time amateur golfer and full-time Brockton firefighter Matt Parziale shot an 81 at Augusta National Thursday morning, which is nine over par. He'll play the second round tomorrow, and he'll have to be either in the top 50 or within 10 strokes of the leader to earn a trip to the third round.

Parziale started out strong on the front nine and was one over through six holes, but double bogies at the seventh and 12th holes set the firefighter back. He picked up birdies at the fourth, fifth, and 15th.

The Brockton man has been the talk of the tournament for his unexpected run to one of the most prestigious tournaments in golf. He fell in love with the sport in 1997 by watching the rise of Tiger Woods but never made the main tour like his idol. After years on the mini-tour, he decided to dedicate himself to being a Brockton firefighter, just like his father. He would go on to join Brockton Fire Station 1 -the seventh busiest station in the country, according to Brockton Fire Chief Michael Williams.

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But it wasn't the end of his playing career. His schedule of working a 24-hour shift, taking two days off, working another 24-hour shift, followed by four days off allowed him to work on his game and eventually led to a come-from-behind victory at the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship in Atlanta last year. The win meant a trip to the Masters, and a change to his wedding date which was the same weekend, he told ESPN.

While he is unlikely to receive the green jacket Sunday, Parziale will be able to say that he played the Masters with his father as his caddy. He even got a practice round in with Woods.

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