Brockton firefighter Matt Parziale opens with 74 at US Open
"He putted great," said his caddie Vic, also known as his dad.
SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — The final putt drained into the cup carrying another par save, prompting the 45 to 50 dedicated Matt Parziale fans along Shinnecock’s ninth green to break into applause, serenading their hero all the way to the scorer’s hut just across the road from the storied clubhouse.
There, Parziale signed for his 4-over 74, a supremely solid first round of the US Open on a day when swirling winds, dry greens, and punishing hills sent so many golfers soaring over par. Parziale is five shots off the lead entering Round 2.
“It was playing tough,’’ Parziale said on the deck of the players’ locker room tent, red stripes across his cheeks serving as more evidence of the windy, sun-splashed day. “I stuck to my game plan. I made a few bad shots I’m disappointed with, but I made a few putts to save pars. I had a few putts I could have made to make birdie, birdie putts right on the edge. Maybe they’ll go in tomorrow. It’s a long way to go, but I felt good.’’
“He putted great,’’ said his caddie Vic, also known as his dad.
The father-son duo was introduced to the golfing world in dramatic fashion at the Masters, when Matt’s story of a Mid-Am title won while serving as a full-time Brockton, Mass., firefighter captured the hearts of fans. Though the Masters experience was memorable for so many moments — a practice round with idol Tiger Woods, an eagle and crystal reward — the golf itself was disappointing, as Parziale failed to make the cut. To turn his second major invite into such a respectable effort meant the world to the competitor within.
“Oh, of course,’’ he said. “Obviously you always want to play better than you do, but I’m happy with the first round.’’
His only real misstep? A double bogey on the sixth hole, his 15th (Parziale opened on No. 10).
“Hit the wrong club,’’ he said. “Went down a club and still hit it over the green. I had 4-iron out and I switched to 5 and it still flew over. Should have used 6, I guess. No way I could know. The wind must have died down just as I hit it, hit it dead into the wind. That’s the only thing I think could have happened. That’s golf.’’
Parziale tees off at 12:41 on Friday.
Last man standing
Twenty-three year-old Scott Gregory shot 22 over par — dead last in the opening round — and then cheerfully answered every question from a group of reporters wanting to know what went wrong.
(Spoiler alert: everything.)
‘‘I’ve shot quite a big number today,’’ Gregory said. ‘‘Everyone has bad days. Look at Tiger, Rory [McIlroy] and all of them.’’
Gregory finished the day five strokes behind the second-to-last golfer, Michael Hebert. The 92 was the highest score at the US Open since Felix Casas shot 92 at Bethpage Black in 2002, but still short of J.D. Tucker’s 107 at the Myopia Hunt Club in 1898.
The 2016 British Amateur winner guessed that he hasn’t shot in the 90s since he was 15 years old.
‘‘It’s been a long time,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s not the week I wanted to revisit it.’’
But he insisted that he will remember the week more for getting a picture with Woods, who finished later at 8 over, than his first-round score.
‘‘I’ll forget about that pretty quickly,’’ Gregory said. ‘‘I’ve been waiting for that picture for 15 years. So it’s quite a big deal.’’
Search party
Former PGA champion Rich Beem isn’t in the field, but he helped out Dustin Johnson by stepping on his ball in the deep Shinnecock rough next to the sixth fairway.
About 30 people — TV crews, volunteers, and even Woods — spent several minutes helping Johnson look for the ball. Beem, who is working for Sky Sports, eventually stepped on it.
If it had been Johnson or his caddie, that would have been a one-shot penalty. Because it was someone else, Johnson was entitled to drop it without penalty. (If he didn’t find it at all, he would have had to return to the tee to play his third shot.)
Johnson chose to hack out to the fairway instead of trying to carry the water and made a 5 for bogey.
Golden rule
Woods benefited from a rule that doesn’t penalize a player when his ball moves on the putting green accidentally, such as from the wind.
Woods set the putter down behind his ball on the 10th green and then backed away when he noticed the movement. He called over a rules official, who allowed him to replace the ball without penalty; he made the putt for par.
Under the rules before 2017, even incidental movement not caused by a player would have been a one-stroke penalty.
Traffic report
Every golfer made it to the course in time on Day 1 despite traffic that had players worried someone would miss his tee time.
With the 15-mile trip from the official players’ hotel to Shinnecock Hills taking two to three hours during the practice rounds, the USGA warned players to leave extra early for the course. A golfer who is late for his tee time is disqualified, and traffic is no excuse.
There was an accident that brought the roads just west of the course to a halt early in the afternoon — too late to affect the players but a problem for late-arriving fans. The USGA said both lanes were blocked and advised media to skip the 2 p.m. shuttle.
