NORTON, Massachusetts – A trio of Massachusetts residents are on the West Coast this week for the 120th U.S. Amateur Championship at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Brandon, Oregon. The stroke-play portion of the event begins Monday, August 10 at both the Bandon Dunes and Bandon Trails courses.
Matt Parziale (Thorny Lea Golf Club), of Brockton, Michael Thorbjornsen (Wellesley County Club), of Wellesley, and Davis Chatfield, of Attleboro, will be among the 264 in the exempt-only field. All three competed at the 2019 U.S. Amateur.
Based on changes following the COVID-19 outbreak, all qualifying events for the U.S. Amateur were canceled, and the 264-player field (down from the normal 312) was set using a set of exemption categories, expanded use of the World Amateur Golf Rankings and finishes in recent United States Golf Association (USGA) Championships.
The stroke-play portion of the event begins Monday morning. Following the completion of 36 holes of stroke play Tuesday, the top 64 competitors will advance to match play on Wednesday. The Championship will conclude with a 36-hole match on Sunday to crown the U.S. Amateur champion and the entire match play portion of the championship will be conducted on the Bandon Dunes layout, which will play at roughly 7,052 yards with a par of 72. Bandon Trails plays at roughly 6,823 yards with a par of 71.
“It’s something to look forward to, to compete for a national championship,” Parziale said. “I’m happy to be able to compete again, and I’m glad we’re able to figure out a way to be able to get this to work.”
Parziale, 33, qualified through playing at the 2019 U.S. Open and winning the 2017 U.S. Mid-Amateur. He has played in 12 USGA events, including the last two U.S. Amateurs. This year, Parziale made the semifinals of the Massachusetts Amateur, finished T9 in the Ouimet Memorial Tournament and won the Brockton City Open. The six-time Richard D. Haskell Mass Golf Player of the Year played at Bandon Dunes with Herbie Aikens (Old Sandwich GC) at the 2019 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball. However, he played on the Pacific Dunes and Old Macdonald courses.
Thornbjorsen, 18, who is heading to Stanford University in the fall, also qualified through playing and making the cut at the 2019 U.S. Open. This will be his sixth USGA championship for the 2018 U.S. Junior Amateur champion. Last month he finished 38th overall at the Sunnehanna Amateur in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
Chatfield, 21, who plays for the University of Notre Dame, made the Round of 32 at the U.S. Amateur back in 2018. This year, he finished 100th at The Western Amateur Championship.
Matt Parziale (Thorny Lea GC/Brockton)
Round 1: Tee 1 (Bandon Dunes) – 4:25 p.m. | Round 2: Tee 1 (Bandon Trails) – 12:12 p.m.
Michael Thorbjornsen (Wellesley CC/Wellesley)
Round 1: Tee 1 (Bandon Trails) – 1:29 p.m. | Round 2: Tee 1 (Bandon Dunes) – 5:42 p.m.
Davis Chatfield (Attleboro/RIGA)
Round 1: Tee 1 (Bandon Dunes) – 2:46 p.m. | Round 2: Tee 1 (Bandon Trails) – 10:33 a.m.
Monday, Aug. 10 (Stroke Play, Round 1, 18 holes)
Tuesday, Aug. 11 (Stroke Play, Round 2, 18 holes)
Wednesday, Aug. 12 (Round of 64, match play)
Thursday, Aug. 13 (Round of 32/Round of 16, match play)
Friday, Aug. 14 (Quarterfinal matches)
Saturday, Aug. 15 (Semifinal matches)
Sunday, Aug. 16 (Championship Match, 36 holes)
Mass Golf will provide coverage for its competitors playing in the U.S. Amateur Championship. Visit MassGolf.org and follow @PlayMassGolf on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for the latest information. To join the conversation, use the hashtag #MassGolf and #USAmateur.
