BROOKLINE — Matt Parziale has played in three major championships, including a 48th-place finish at the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills. In 2017, he took the top prize in Bay State amateur golf, winning the Massachusetts Amateur Championship at Charles River Country Club, and followed that by winning the 2017 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship that earned him a spot in the Masters.
On Wednesday, Parziale showcased the form that has brought him success over the past few years.
That was bad news for Greenfield’s Cody Booska.
The 23-year-old had the best seat in the house to watch Parziale put on a birdie-fest, as the pair met in the Round of 16 at the 111th Mass. Amateur at The Country Club. The 32-year-old Parziale birdied five of his first seven holes, storming out to a commanding 6-up lead in that span. Booska could only watch as the 2017 champion blitzed the course to capture a convincing 7 and 6 victory, eliminating the Turners Falls native from his third match play appearance at the prestigious event.
“After his first tee ball, I’m just watching the ball fly and it reminded me of watching the pros on TV … he hits it just like them,” Booska said. “He pounds the ball. He didn’t miss a shot out there today.”
The blistering start to the match was a continuation of a big Wednesday for Parziale. He had to win a playoff in the morning just to earn the last spot in the 32-man match play bracket, and then made his presence felt immediately when he defeated top-seeded and stroke play medalist Herbie Aikens, 3 and 1, in the Round of 32.
Booska, the No. 16 seed, did his part in the morning, picking up a solid 2 and 1 victory over No. 17 Colin Brennan. In that match, Booska trailed early before taking his first lead of the contest with a birdie on No. 6. He didn’t trail the rest of the way, growing the lead as high as 4-up before closing things out on the 17th hole.
“(Brennan) just kind of told me afterward that I wore him out,” Booska said. “I was hitting it really good this morning, finding every fairway and center of green. I stuck to the game plan.”
That set up the dream matchup with Parziale.
“You’ve got to beat the best to be the best. In Massachusetts, he’s probably the best player here,” Booska said. “I’ve always wanted to draw him. Never gotten the chance before, and I’ve always wanted to. I guess maybe I shouldn’t have wished that, but it was fun. It didn’t work out today but maybe some other day.”
Booska wasn’t displeased with his performance against Parziale, despite the lopsided margin. He was steady, knocking in pars, but couldn’t keep pace with the surge of birdies on the front nine.
Booska had a birdie putt on No. 9 to win the hole but it slid past, and Parziale scrambled from the rough to halve the hole with a par. Booska dropped to 7-down after bogeying No. 10 when he landed in the greenside bunker, and despite prolonging the match with a halve on No. 11, Booska’s par on No. 12 was not enough to extend the match and the pair shook hands.
“All-in-all, I didn’t play badly this afternoon,” he said. “I finished on the 12th hole but I stuck to my game plan, hitting greens and fairways. He turned it on. I just kind of ran into a buzz-saw a little bit.”
For Jacob Zaranek, a spot in the final 16 looked very much in sight with just four holes remaining.
The South Deerfield resident, seeded 26th, won his third hole in a row with a birdie on the par-5 14th, taking a 1-up lead against seventh-seeded Nick Maccario. But Maccario squared the match on No. 15, and took advantage of a Zaranek wayward tee shot on No. 17 to take the lead back with a par. The match went to 18, but the players halved with pars and Maccario squeaked out a 1-up victory to advance to the Round of 16.
“A lot of back and forth,” said Zaranek, a 20-year-old rising junior at Fairfield University. “He made some putts early, I made some putts late. It was definitely tight the whole way. It’s too bad to end with those two poor tee balls (on Nos. 17 and 18), I kind of gave the match away a little bit. But I was happy with the way I played. I thought I hit the ball pretty well.”
Zaranek took a quick 1-up lead after a birdie on No. 1, though fell behind in the middle portion of the match when Maccario, who chipped in for eagle on No. 6, took a 2-up lead with wins on Nos. 10 and 11.
“(No. 10) was my one real bad mistake of the day besides my drive on 17,” Zaranek said. “I three-putted from 20 feet and you just can’t do that.”
Zaranek had a short memory, however. He rattled off wins in three straight holes (Nos. 12, 13 and 14) and regained a 1-up advantage.
“I was happy with the way I stayed in it all day,” he said. “I battled out of it, came back and put myself in position to get a win. It’s too bad I couldn’t close it out. We kind of ran out of holes.”
This week’s tournament was just the start for Zaranek. He’ll compete in the U.S. Amateur Championship, set for August at historic Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina.
“It was just an awesome week,” he said of the Mass. Am. “Being out here is unbelievable. Just a really fun place to play. I’m glad I was able to get into match play. I would’ve liked to have taken it further but I really had an enjoyable week. Now I’m looking forward to the rest of the schedule coming up.”