SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — Matt Parziale got plenty of mileage out of the story of his Mid-Am championship leading into his daylong shift at Brockton Fire Station No. 1, how he made a late flight out of Atlanta to make it home by 2 a.m. and then reporting to work for a 7 a.m. shift, how a sudden brush with glory (including automatic invites to the Masters and the US Open) was never going to keep him from his honest day’s work.

But here’s one Parziale himself hasn’t yet heard, revealed by a dad who made his own quick turnaround from the same early-morning arrival. Vic Parziale also had a 7 a.m. appointment that October Saturday, but his was at Thorny Lea Golf Club’s first tee for a date with his regular weekend foursome. Confession: Vic made his reservation on the previous Thursday, right around the time Matt was five holes down with eight to play in his quarterfinal Mid-Am match.

“Don’t tell him,’’ Vic is laughing now, standing outside the scoring cabin at Shinnecock Hills. “Nah, it doesn’t matter anymore. It’s not that I didn’t have confidence in him, but if you don’t sign up you get shut out. I was thinking I can always cancel. But I didn’t cancel.’’

No, they both made it with time to spare, living out the details that have brought this endearing story to life, how a father and son have remained bonded through golf, how a guy with a job but with also a dream can keep both going at once, how a magical two-day swing through the US Open earned a wonderful chance to play major weekend golf, how Sunday will dawn with son Matt on the course and dad Vic on the bag.

“Best Father’s Day present ever,’’ Vic said.

Regardless of score and unchanged by outcome, this is a story to remember, to celebrate, to emulate, and to honor, the unique story of one of the 156 entrants into the 2018 US Open, as honest a contender to the trophy as anyone in the field but different too, a reminder of what can happen when skill and desire meet opportunity and hope, how a 31-year-old man already pursuing one of America’s most noble professions can simultaneously excel at one of our most popular, even in his spare time.

Firefighter. Athlete.

Two disparate identities, one compelling person.

Of course the competitor in Matt was still hot after a 4-over 74 Saturday round, one to match his Thursday debut but one that didn’t feel nearly as good as that one did, not after a double bogey on 16 and a bogey on 18 burned him with lost opportunity. And if there’s anything that’s going to boil his normally even-tempered blood, it’s losing at competition. To a fire. To fellow firefighters. To a golf course. To fellow golfers.

That’s who he’s been since his youth, when his hockey-coaching dad had to rein in his aggressiveness, when his small high school without a hockey or a golf team cajoled his barely 6-foot self into playing hoops, when he managed to make enough of an impression on the junior golf circuit to draw recruiting interest from Southeastern University in Florida and turn his warm-weather adventure into a new golfing life.

He made his way to the big time, authoring a Hollywood script thick with its multitude of near-ridiculous angles: From making this US Open cut by besting childhood idols like Tiger Woods and major champions like Jordan Spieth along the way to ensuring the weekend tee time with his father as his caddie. But don’t forget his upcoming wedding to fiancee Ali Hubbard, the Aug. 3 wedding she so adeptly (and willingly) moved from Aug. 18 to accommodate Matt’s additional invitation to the US Amateur championship in Pebble Beach, or the countless friends who made the trek to Long Island to fill the galleries with cheers and support, or the coach who’s been with him since a three-year professional grind on the mini-tour circuit eventually gave way to the firefighting career.

“It’s the greatest, right?’’ that coach, Shawn Hester, is saying down by Shinnecock’s practice green. “You know how hard the kid’s worked. I’ve been with him for seven years, and I’ve seen how far he’s come with his game and I’m so proud of him. To see him get rewarded, to get to play on the weekend, the biggest tournament in American golf, it’s incredible.’’

There was Hester early Saturday morning, standing alongside Vic as Matt made his way from driving range to practice putting green before the first hole, the two of them not so much providing a watchful gaze as building a supportive web. There they were watching Matt prove his worthiness at still being here, a nervy opening three-hole stretch of impressive up-and-down par saves adding up to a three-day 11-over total that has him first among all amateurs, never mind the dried-out carnage that left the afternoon leaders in dust.

This is where Matt belongs now, at least for the duration of the leave of absence from the fire department, fueled by golf but filled with gratitude, guided by the ethos of teamwork that sustains a fire crew but powered by the individual drive that elite athletes need, a consummate compartmentalizer letting everything flow through his game. Put aside are the potential for injury on a fire call (on the one day back on the job after the Mid-Am win, a colleague sustained a hernia, prompting Parziale to apply for a leave right away) or the penchant for heartbreak on a medical call (Matt’s ladder company was the seventh busiest in the country last year), on hold while a golf dream goes on.

“I live to play competitive golf,’’ he said. “It’s not like I was a firefighter and I just went out and started playing. I’ve been doing this for a long time. I’ve been enjoying this since I was 13, 14 years old. It’s nothing new to me, playing a tournament. I love to play tournaments. Competition is what I love. I love to try and get better, to improve. I love to play. I enjoy going places, playing new courses.

“Firefighting, I love that too. I love the career. I love fighting fires. We’re a pretty good team. Everyone brings something new to the table. We work together. The other stuff, the medicals, I think most of us could do without them. But that’s part of the job. It’s the reason we have so many firefighters, because there are so many of those calls. I just try to do the best I can with whatever I’m doing. Put hard work into both of them to be the best.’’

For 32 years, Vic was answering that call too, retiring last November from the same Brockton Fire Department as Matt, saying goodbye to the world he opened up to his son, stepping proudly into the world his son gave him.

Happy Father’s Day.

Tara Sullivan is a Globe columnist. She can be reached at tara.sullivan@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @Globe_Tara.