Matt Parziale - the Massachusetts Firefighter Playing in the 2018 Masters

If you’ve ever dreamed of playing in the Masters, the story of Matt Parziale is your dream come true.  The 30-year-old U.S. Mid-Amateur champ heads to Augusta this week not as a professional golfer but as a professional firefighter who’s earned his spot in the first major of 2018.

Hailing from the blue collar town of Brockton, Massachusetts, Parziale has been described by those who know him as a great firefighter, a pretty good golfer and an even better person. When he’s not busy putting out fires with Ladder 1 in Brockton, Parziale is playing golf. After a successful collegiate career in Florida, Parziale tried his luck as a pro for three years on mini tours. When it was obvious that wasn’t going to work out he decided to follow in the footsteps of his father, becoming a firefighter and being reinstated as an amateur golfer.

In October 2017, Parziale had his biggest success on the golf course when he won the U.S. Mid-Am in Georgia. With his dad Vic on the bag Parziale collected the Mid-Am title but he didn’t have too much time to celebrate as the golfer needed to be back at work in Massachusetts at 7 a.m. the following morning!

The biggest win of his life also came with a few other perks including spots at this year’s Masters and the U.S. Open at Shinnecock.

On Monday, the firefighter got to play a practice round at Augusta with Rory McIlroy and told reporters that he might even get in another practice round with his idol and the reason he got into the game, Tiger Woods.

“But he’s in high demand, so we’ll see if that happens. And I understand if that doesn’t,” Parziale told reporters on Monday.

Adding, “He [Woods] sent me a letter after I had won (the Mid-Am). And that was incredible to receive, just because I had I grew up watching him. And, I mean, I played competitive golf because I was able to watch him growing up.”

We can’t wait to see how Parziale gets on this week at Augusta!!!

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