AUGUSTA, Ga. — Matt Parziale, the 30-year-old firefighter from Brockton, Mass., got his wish on Wednesday. He played a nine-hole practice round with his golfing idol, Tiger Woods, while his lifelong idol, his father Vic, caddied for him.
There are only a couple of things that can make this week better than it was on Wednesday for Parziale — making the cut, finishing in the top 12 to secure a berth in next year’s Masters or winning the green jacket.
Parziale, who earned a spot in the field this week by winning the U.S. Mid-Amateur, played the front nine with Woods and Fred Couples in the early afternoon then hustled over to play in the Par-3 Contest, where he played with Patrick Reed and had his fiancée, Alison Hubbard, caddie for him.
“The fact that Matt puts his life on the line every day for others and then does this is amazing,’’ Woods said. “I’m really impressed by his game. He’s a very good player. Matt played great today and we really had a lot of fun. He’s a terrific kid and we really had a good time.
“I had a nice time with his dad, too. He told me some great stories about the fire department and the things he’s done.’’
After Parziale won the Mid-Am, Woods sent him a congratulatory letter. Parziale met Woods recently while practicing at Medalist, Woods’ Florida home club. He requested a practice-round date with Woods when he arrived to Augusta.
“He sent me a letter after I had won, and that was incredible to receive, just because I had grew up watching him,” Parziale said. “And, I mean, I played competitive golf because I was able to watch him growing up.’’
Parziale, who played a practice round with Rory McIlroy on Monday, will tee it up with former Masters winner Mike Weir and Brendan Steele at 8:52 a.m. Thursday.
Tommy Fleetwood, playing in his second Masters, will be paired with Woods along with Marc Leishman.
“The first real Masters I watched was 1997, when [Woods] won his first,’’ Fleetwood said. “A few years on and I get to play with him. I don’t think you can get a better draw than Tiger at the Masters, especially with what’s going on in golf at the moment. It’s very cool.
“He was in his prime when I was growing up. There was something about this week where I thought to myself, ‘For some reason, I’m going to get Tiger Woods this week.’ I walked to the putting green at about 11 o’clock [Tuesday], and it was the biggest mass of people you could see imagine around here, just to see him and Phil [Mickelson] walking off the 18th green. So you get an idea of how busy it’s going to be.
“All that said, I’m only bothered about me. Whatever he does is not my problem. I’ve got to get on with my own stuff. As well as concentrating on my stuff, I’ll get to watch him up close and see what he does and there’s nothing better than that.’’
In a rare twist, McIlroy is the only Irishman in the Masters field this week. For the past several years, Padraig Harrington, Graeme McDowell and Darren Clarke have been a part of the Masters. None qualified this year.
“It would be nice to have a few of the other guys here, Padraig or Graeme or Paul Dunne or whoever it is, but it’s a limited field, and that’s why it’s so special to be in the Masters field, is because it’s the toughest tournament to qualify for,’’ McIlroy said. “I don’t feel like there’s any more pressure on my shoulders because of that.’’
