Brockton firefighter gets massive support at home club during Masters debut

BROCKTON, Mass. – You might not know him by name, but if you’ve been watching coverage of the 2018 Masters Tournament you’ve likely seen Matt Parziale play.

Parziale is one of six amateur golfers who qualified for the prestigious tournament. But that’s not what makes him special – between competition rounds locally he works as a full-time firefighter.

Since October, the 30-year-old firefighter has taken a leave of absence to work on his game in preparation for the trip to Augusta National Golf Club.

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Many of his friends, family members and colleagues gathered at the Thorny Lea Golf Course in Brockton to watch his first round Thursday.

“A lot of us have family members who are firefighters and police and all of that. Knowing what they do on a daily basis, risking their lives, so having a firefighter/professional golfer, he’s our superhero, he’s Matt,” Thorny Lea Golf Club member Lorraine Feeney said.

Parziale’s father, who retired from a career fighting fires in November, is serving as his caddie.

Parziale is tied for 85th place after finishing nine strokes over par on the first day of competition.

He’ll need to finish well ahead of par during Friday’s second round if he hopes to stay alive and play into the weekend.

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