Separated by 15 years, Matt Parziale and Michael Thorbjornsen were joined by a set of similarities that spoke to their golf talents as they stood on the first tee of Brae Burn Country Club for the final match in the 113th Massachusetts Amateur last Saturday morning.

Each had won USGA a title – Parziale the Mid-Am in 2017, Thorbjornsen the Junior Amateur a year later.

Each had won a Mass Golf championship four years ago – Parziale the State Am, Thorbjornsen the State Pre-Junior.

Each had experienced the U.S. Open. Parziale was low am in 2018. Both played in 2019 at Pebble Beach, where Thorbjornsen as a 17-year-old made the cut.

And each had brought home a special memory from competing at Augusta National – Parziale missed the cut at the Masters in 2018 as the Mid-Am champ, but got to play a practice round with Tiger Woods; Thorbjornsen in 2016 was winner of the 14-15 age group in the national Drive, Chip, and Putt Championship.

Parziale, at 34, and Thorbjornsen, at 19, presented arguably the most flavorful State Amateur final in years. They stood as proof that the game does not check IDs or passports, that the glory of golf is how it can easily galvanize competitors of different backgrounds.

Hours later, however, Parziale and Thorbjornsen had demonstrated that the competitive game, while unifying in spirit, on closer examination offers levels of golfers going in different directions. Parziale, who years ago gave the pro game a try and is now a mid-am of national prominence, saw up close and personal the level on which Thorbjornsen is on.

“He is,” acknowledged Parziale, after his defeat, “a world-beater.”

And confirming what hundreds of us witnessed live at Brae Burn and thousands more saw on Mass Golf’s rich array of social media channels, Parziale said he’d buy stock in this young man who honed his game at the IMG Academy in Florida before spending a few years at Wellesley High School and going on to Stanford.

Sticking to the tenets of competitive golf – you cannot tackle your opponent and you are expected to maintain composure and play hard till the end – Parziale did nothing to lose. He was 3-under through six holes and was 2 down. He made five birdies and an eagle in a 5-under 67 opening 18 and was 6 down. He was 7-under for the 30 holes played and deservedly held his head high.

Only Thorbjornsen held the trophy after his 8-and-6 win and said, “Just winning the amateur championship of Massachusetts, where I’m from, it means a lot.”

This 8-and-6 triumph was emphatic and utterly impressive. Most importantly, it was all on him, owed to a wonderful set of skills, because Parziale didn’t give his opponent a thing. Let us siphon through the Thorbjornsen Saturday highlight reel from Brae Burn:

Birdies on each of the first five holes . . . a tidy 30 strokes going out . . . 12 birdies in the morning 18, six more on 12 afternoon holes, 16-under for the 30 holes he played . . . as seamless a championship performance as could have been imagined and one that resonated across the country with Stanford head coach Conrad Ray.

“He’s a wonderful kid and has been an awesome addition to our program,” said Ray, who would be the first to ask all those folks who watched Thorbjornsen’s Brae Burn performance to take a deep breath, to slow down, to not rush things.

Clearly, professional golf is on everyone’s mind, particularly after watching what Thorbjornsen did Saturday, but Ray is a daily witness to a competitive arena filled with golfers at that level. For perspective, during his 2020-21 freshman season, Thorbjornsen didn’t record any top 10s for the Cardinal, so, yes, there’s room for improvement.

“(Michael) made a lot of progress his freshman year – even through the pandemic,” said Ray. “He has matured a lot (and) the sky is the limit.”

Parziale, who has a great feel for the world in which Thorbjornsen competes, is adamant. “There aren’t a lot of players as good as he is,” said the former national mid-am champion.

“He’s got all the talent in the world. I’m rooting for him; it’s his to take. He has a bright future if he keeps going in this space.”

Ray does not disagree. But he is quick to highlight a slice of Thorbjornsen that is to be admired.

“He’s invested in the next 40 years, not the next few,” said Ray. “Michael is focused on his education; it’s what he signed up for. He’s smart enough to know there’s no rush.”

For now, Ray and Thorbjornsen are all about improving the edges of the young man’s game and not rushing things. It is, said Ray, a long view.

“I’m eager to see how things go for him at (next week’s) Western (Amateur) and U.S. Amateur (Aug. 9-15),” said Ray.

By unanimous acclaim, they went exceedingly well at the Massachusetts Amateur.