SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. – Dustin Johnson leads the tournament, but an amateur and his loyal caddy from Massachusetts share the spotlight in America’s oldest and most cherished event –the United States Open.
Remember the 1913 U.S. Open at The Country Club in Brookline? Francis Ouimet and his caddy Eddie Lowery battling the best professional golfers in the world. Well, this weekend the sports world turns its attention to Matt Parziale and his caddy/father, Vic, who will spend the ultimate Fathers Day’s together, dad on the bag for son.
How good does it get for ratings challenged FOX Sports TV? Matt and Vic, father-and-son, both firemen, strolling the fairways of Shinnecock Hills Country Club in the 118 the U.S. Open on Father’s Day 2018.
This tale sends chills down your spine. This is what dreams are made of and you can be sure FOX SPORTS TV will pump it up because it’s real, it’s heartwarming and it’s the ultimate feel good story for the ages.
With an absence of star power, since Tiger, Rory, Spieth, Day, Bubba and Sergio missed the cut, and a FOX TV telecast filled with audio and graphic problems one of the main storylines will feature the unlikely tale of Matt and Vic, making the cut.
Parziale, the reigning U.S. Mid-Amateur champion, made the most of his two days here, birdieing the 18th hole Friday to finish at 7 over, one shot clear of the cut.
“I don’t know why you wouldn’t dream and try to do the best you can,” Parziale told the media after his epic feat. “Anything is possible. The work you put in, and I’m proud of the work I put in. It’s been up and down, but I’ve always enjoyed trying to get better.”
Parziale opened the tournament Thursday in difficult, windy conditions by shooting 74, managing a single birdie against a double-bogey and three bogeys. With calmer conditions Friday, “Parz” as his buddies from Thorny Lea Golf Course in Brockton-Mass call him, managed a 73 that featured two birdies — including the all-important one at the last hole that got him to 147, 7 over par.
“Golf’s hard,” he said. “I mean, this game is crazy. I’m happy with the way I played and looking forward to competing this weekend. I’m not big on expectations. I just try to go out there and get so into the process, and that’s what I enjoy doing. The putt on 18, to have that go in … I stuck to my process, and I was fortunate to have that one fall on the last hole there.”
Over 200 clubmates and friends from Brockton walked Shinnecock Hills rooting on their golf hero. Tens and thousands of well-wishers from Massachusetts followed the action online and at 5:45 pm Friday when FOX SPORTS TV showed Matt sinking the birdie putt and making the cut and hugging dad – PARZ NATION was ecstatic!
Tee time Saturday is 10:24 a.m. with Byeong Hun An and PARZ NATION is pumped!
Saturday’s Round 3 Tee Times
PLAYER STARTING TIME
Tim Wilkinson 9:07 a.m.
Bill Haas, Jhonattan Vegas 9:18 a.m.
Matthieu Pavon, Cameron Wilson 9:29 a.m.
Brandt Snedeker, Kiradech Aphibarnat 9:40 a.m.
Steve Stricker, Gary Woodland 9:51 a.m.
Dean Burmester, Luis Gagne (a) 10:02 a.m.
Daniel Berger, Kevin Chappell 10:13 a.m.
Matt Parziale (a), Byeong Hun An 10:24 a.m.
Haotong Li, Ross Fisher 10:35 a.m.
Francesco Molinari, Webb Simpson 10:46 a.m.
Tony Finau, Peter Uihlein 10:57 a.m.
Brian Gay, Sam Burns 11:08 a.m.
Chris Naegel, Dylan Meyer 11:19 a.m.
Phil Mickelson, Andrew Johnston 11:30 a.m.
Zach Johnson, Paul Casey 11:41 a.m.
Louis Oosthuizen, Patrick Cantlay 11:52 a.m.
Aaron Baddeley, Xander Schauffele 12:03 p.m.
Bryson DeChambeau, Hideki Matsuyama 12:14 p.m.
Tyrrell Hatton, Patrick Reed 12:25 p.m.
Branden Grace, Jimmy Walker 12:36 p.m.
Brendan Steele, Will Grimmer (a) 12:47 p.m.
Ryan Fox, Calum Hill 12:58 p.m.
Mickey DeMorat, Russell Knox 1:09 p.m.
Patrick Rodgers, Brian Harman 1:20 p.m.
Tyler Duncan, Jason Dufner 1:31 p.m.
Justin Thomas, Pat Perez 1:42 p.m.
Jim Furyk, Alex Noren 1:53 p.m.
Rafa Cabrera Bello, Charles Howell III 2:04 p.m.
Matthew Fitzpatrick, Marc Leishman 2:15 p.m.
Rickie Fowler, Russell Henley 2:26 p.m.
Ian Poulter, Brooks Koepka 2:37 p.m.
Justin Rose, Henrik Stenson 2:48 p.m.
Tommy Fleetwood, Charley Hoffman 2:59 p.m.
Dustin Johnson, Scott Piercy 3:10 p.m.
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