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U.S. MID-AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIPOctober 13, 2017Matt ParzialeAtlanta, Georgia THE MODERATOR: We're here with 37th U.S. Mid-Amateur champion, Matt Parziale. Congratulations. MATT PARZIALE: Thank you. Appreciate it. Q. Tell me, what are where you emotions like right now? It's been a long, hard week. Now you know you're a champion and you're also going to the U.S. Open. MATT PARZIALE: Yeah, it's a lot to think about right now. Just really trying to enjoy the moment. Very excited for the upcoming year. Q. There times - I know we talked during the match - and it kind of dawned on you guys that you were also exempt into other things, like the U.S. Amateur. How exciting is that? MATT PARZIALE: Yeah, so that was on the 5th hole this morning. Yeah, that was good news to get that. I'm glad I didn't get a little ahead of myself. Yeah, there is a lot to think about now, a lot to plan for next year. But I'm going to enjoy this first and then figure that all out. Q. I know it's early, but you and your fiancee, Allie, have to figure out how you're going to get married next year, too, around this schedule. MATT PARZIALE: Yeah. That's going to be a discussion. That's a good problem to have, I should say. Q. Let's get into the match. Obviously you got off to a real quick start. He came right back at you. What are you thinking after the first four holes? MATT PARZIALE: First, I wasn't happy with the shot I hit on -- I messed up. No, the first four holes I felt like I played -- definitely wanted to come out and hit good shots. I won the first two; he won the next two. He made great putt on 3; he made a great putt on 4. I was a little disappointed in the putt I hit on 4 because hit a good putt. It was a misread. Then I was able to hit maybe one of the best shots of day, tee shot on 5, right in the middle of the green and two-putt for the birdie. Q. Then you hit a three-wood off the tee? MATT PARZIALE: I hit 3-wood, yeah. So I hit that exactly where I wanted to and turned out very well. Q. Then on the 6th hole you go 2-up; you hit a 6-iron in there. MATT PARZIALE: Yeah. Yeah, that was a good number I had. I knew that I could hit it and just let it? Fall in there, and it did exactly what I wanted. Lucky enough the putt fell in. Q. And then 7, another good birdie. MATT PARZIALE: Yep. Had to take a little bit off a wedge there, but I felt pretty in control of my irons. More fluid. Something I've been working on is the soft shot; paid off there. Q. You get to 3-up and then he holes out from the bunker. MATT PARZIALE: Yeah, that shot may have been the best shot of the day. When I said, If they put that pin there, that's the one place you don't want to be. I made a mess and had four-foot for par. I was thinking I might escape and then he hit maybe the best shot of the day. Q. Had to be one of the better nines you've played, the back half of the morning round, to have four birdies. MATT PARZIALE: Yeah. Q. On your way to what was a 63. MATT PARZIALE: Yeah. And then I missed one on 11 there. Disappointed in that. But then I make the long one on 13, so it evened out the round. Q. What did you read there, the 55-footer on 13? MATT PARZIALE: You know, I had it just going right the whole way. I just said, Just get it online and hopefully (indiscernible) the whole way and it fell in. I had really good numbers on 14. Had great number on 16. So those were both close, close shots there. Q. On 14 you hit pitching wedge. Seemed to have control of that club all day. MATT PARZIALE: Yeah, that was -- yeah, 8, 9, wedge, they were awesome all week. That's the shot I'm working hard on, so paid off. Q. And then as you just said, you hit the 8-iron into 16. MATT PARZIALE: Yeah. I had good control of those. Q. Go to the break 6-up. MATT PARZIALE: Yeah. Q. What were you thinking then? You had to come from behind in your quarterfinal match where you were 5-down, and now you're on the opposite end. MATT PARZIALE: Yeah. You know what? I said to myself, I'm going to restart the match and just see if I can beat him on the second nine, too. (Indiscernible.)... on 1 in the afternoon, so I knew it didn't break as much. It just went in perfectly. Then he made birdie on... Q. No, you won the hole, didn't you? MATT PARZIALE: I forget. I'm sorry. I three-putted 6, that's what it was. So he got it back to 7. But, yeah. Q. (Regarding shooting 63.) MATT PARZIALE: No, I didn't know. I didn't even know I shot 63 until someone texted me after. I was really just trying to take it one hole at a time. I know that's what everyone says, but that's what I did today. (Indiscernible.) At the end I had 63. (Indiscernible). Q. (Indiscernible.) MATT PARZIALE: Yeah, it's amazing. That was a great announcement they had on Thursday night. At the time I didn't know I would be the one going, but I'm very fortunate to have that opportunity now. Q. Ever been to a U.S. Open? MATT PARZIALE: Never have. Never been to Augusta either. (Indiscernible.) (Laughter.) Q. (Indiscernible.) MATT PARZIALE: No. I wasn't (indiscernible.) Q. Let's talk about being a fire fighter. MATT PARZIALE: Yeah. Q. Probably being a fire fighter you not only fight fires, but what are some of the other things have to do? MATT PARZIALE: We respond to all EMS calls, car accidents. We're very busy station. It's great. I love my career. It allows me to do this time-off-wise. Yeah, it's fun. Great group of guys, too. Q. (Regarding working around his schedule.) MATT PARZIALE: It'll be tough, but we'll make next year work. Q. When were you planning to get married? MATT PARZIALE: August 18th. Q. (Regarding Josh and wedding catering.) MATT PARZIALE: Yeah. (Laughter.) No, Josh is a great kid. He's great to play with. He had a great week as well. Q. What's the name of your firehouse? MATT PARZIALE: It's the Brockton Fire Department, station 1. I'm on Ladder 1. Q. And have you had to had to respond to some tough situations? Some fire folks have to handle paramedics... MATT PARZIALE: Yeah, we do that. We see a lot of stuff. I try not to let it affect me, but we see a lot of stuff. Q. How does that strengthen you mentally possibly to play what is really a mental sport? MATT PARZIALE: I think it's a (indiscernible) effort, because I try to leave that there and I try to if leave this here. It's probably not the greatest answer, but I really try to separate the two. Q. Does golf help you separate? MATT PARZIALE: It does, yes. It's almost a getaway. Don't get me wrong. I love golf. I love nothing more than competing. It's great to be able to do th this away from the station and get your mind off. Q. Okay, Matt, can we talk about what firehouse you work at? MATT PARZIALE: Yeah. It's Brockton Fire Department, Station 1. I'm on Ladder 1. There are two companies there. The other one is Squad A. Q. Talk about your job. Not only obviously you have to fight fires, but some other duties a fireman has. MATT PARZIALE: We respond to car accidents, all EMS calls, whether it be a stomach ache or an overdose. There is a large range, and we're very busy. I think we are the seventh busiest ladder in the country. We have a company at our station that's the busiest rescue in the country. Q. How many people overall are in the unit? MATT PARZIALE: There are 12 of us at the station. On any given day there is ten though. Usually some guys are out and so on and so forth. Q. How does being a firefighter help you with your golf game as far as the mental part of it is concerned? Or does it? MATT PARZIALE: I don't think it does because I try to separate the two. I leave work at work and I leave golf at the course. I've had success doing that. I think if you mix the two you might not perform well at either one, so... Q. Does it help you that you have golf in your life to help you get away? MATT PARZIALE: Absolutely. Yeah, it's great to be able to compete. I'm down here for nine days and my mind is off work. I got to go to work tomorrow morning, yeah, but I'll be refreshed and ready to go. It's great to have both things in my life. Q. Can you talk about there are a couple guys that came down here today. (Indiscernible.) MATT PARZIALE: Yeah. Q. I don't know if your fiance was here all week. MATT PARZIALE: Just came in today. Q. What did it mean to have them out here? I know you embraced after the match was over. MATT PARZIALE: I knew my best friend, Greg, was driving from Indy and he was meeting up with my fiancee, Allie. I didn't know about the other guys. They just kept showing up at different times. Crazy friends. That means a lot to keep seeing new faces show up. There was a lot of support, and it was great to have them here. Q. Greg's name is? MATT PARZIALE: Greg Chalas. His dad played in the U.S. Open in Baltusrol in 1980 or '85. I can't remember. Q. '80. MATT PARZIALE: Yeah. Q. Wow. Let's talk about your father. Not only does he work with you in the firehouse, but he's also your caddie. MATT PARZIALE: Yeah. Q. How does he help you in work and on the golf course? MATT PARZIALE: Yeah, work not so much. We've only had one fire together. We don't work in the same group. I'm very happy we got that one fire because he's retiring in January. On the course he's awesome. He's been doing this a long time for me. He's great with the wind. He knows the clubs, how far I hit them. He keeps me relaxed, and that's the biggest thing. Q. Let's finish up the match. Obviously you held the lead. You extended it actually in the first three holes of the afternoon. What were you thinking maybe in the first couple holes in the afternoon? You're 8-up. Were you thinking you're just going to playing conservatively? MATT PARZIALE: So my game plan didn't change even though my golf kind of did. I hit some putts weaker than I wanted to I would say. Maybe a little hesitant. But it worked out. I wasn't happy with the putts I was hitting on the 7th hole, 6th hole; left one low on the 9th hole. Then I made a really good one on 10. That was a key putt, because he was going to make par. To make that 15-, 20-footer there after hitting it long, it kind of -- if he wins that hole then the comeback is more in play. So lucky enough on the next hole that I was able to make birdie there. Q. How do you think that trophy will go in the firehouse? MATT PARZIALE: I'm not bringing it to the firehouse. I don't tell any of them about this. Q. They obviously know now. MATT PARZIALE: Yeah, maybe. I hope not. Q. They don't know you're competing... MATT PARZIALE: No, they know, they know, but I try to separate the two, like I said. That'll stay at home. I'll take care of that one. Q. Do you think you'll get a lot requests for tickets next year? MATT PARZIALE: I don't know. We'll see. I mean, these guys show up everywhere apparently. Q. Those guys are playing. Talking about guys that don't. MATT PARZIALE: Yeah, yeah. Q. One of the pro golfers you have always followed is Tiger Woods. MATT PARZIALE: Yeah. Q. The 239-yard 2-iron you hit on the last hole of the match had a little resemblance to one of his stingers. MATT PARZIALE: It did, yeah. You know, the funny thing is, when I won the Massachusetts Amateur this year, that's the exact club I hit into the last hole, which is a par-5. Exact same shot. So walking up I was like, This might be the same shot. Then to end up -- I hit that as hard as I could, and it was singing. I love watching him hit those, so that was pretty fun. Q. If he played in the U.S. Open next year, what would you do if you had the chance to meet him? MATT PARZIALE: I would try to get paired with him. Whatever he shot I would try to shoot. It would be amazing to meet him. The reason I play golf is because of Tiger Woods. I was the perfect age, getting into the game, watching him in 2000 not making bogey it felt like. It was special. I'll never forget the shots he hit, how dominant he was. That's the reason I play golf is because of him. Q. Of the current crop of elite pros, say you got called into a threesome to play a practice round at Shinnecock next year, who might the three guys you would like to play with? MATT PARZIALE: Tough call. I'm friends with Keegan, so maybe Keegan. Yeah, I don't know. I like Phil, too. Phil and Tiger. I love watching Phil. I like DJ, too. Those three. I like watching them play. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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