West Hartford, Connecticut (June 12, 2026) – The championship match of the 124th Connecticut Amateur presented by Middlesex Health is set. Meeting on the tee at 7:30 a.m. at Wampanoag Country Club tomorrow morning will be Will Lodge and Cody Paladino.
Semifinal Video Highlights: Will Lodge I Cody Paladino
For Lodge, the 2022 Connecticut Junior Amateur winner, it will be his first appearance in the finals. Meanwhile, for Paladino, the 2013 winner, it will be his fourth appearance since 2020 and sixth trip overall. Paladino has finished as the runner-up in all three of his appearances since 2020.
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On a scorching hot and steamy Thursday, it looked as if Paladino was going to run out of steam. The week for Paladino began on Monday with 36-holes of U.S. Open Final Qualifying. Before continuing with 18 holes of Connecticut Amateur stroke play qualifying on both Tuesday and Wednesday, followed by 32 holes of golf to move through the Rounds of 32 and 16 on Thursday.
With already 104 competitive holes, all played in the heat this week, Paladino entered the fourth day of the 2026 Connecticut Amateur running on pure adrenaline and grit. Playing on the course, he won the 2022 Russell C. Palmer Cup and the 2024 Connecticut Mid-Amateur, Paladino needed 19 holes to defeat Bradley Sawka (Ellington Ridge CC) in the quarterfinals. The victory was revenge for last year’s quarterfinal defeat to Sawka.
Now with 123 holes played, Paladino looked poised to make quick work of his semifinal opponent, Angus Klintworth (eClub of Connecticut). Just 30 minutes after winning his marathon quarterfinal match, Paladino came out of the gates firing, winning the first two holes of the semifinal match, and by the time the two made the turn, the lead was 5 up.
However, Klintworth, a rising senior at BYU, wasn’t going to go away without a fight. Beginning with a victory on No. 10, Klintworth won three holes in a row, the latter two with birdies to move within 2 down.
Paladino, who said he was fading a bit during the second nine due to the heat, was able to stop the bleeding with ties on Nos. 13 and 14, but Klintworth just kept coming. He won the par-4 15th with a par, and then after Paladino lost his tee ball in the left side fescue on the par-4 17th, he won the penultimate hole to even the match for the first time all afternoon.
With a large crowd following, the stage was set for a dramatic finish. Both players found the fairway off the tee of the closing par-4. Just away, Paladino landed 35 feet past the pin with his second shot into the significantly elevated green.
Playing next, Klintworth went pin seeking and came up just short, finishing below the hole in the second cut. First to play, Paladino showed remarkable touch on a sweeping downhill putt, lagging his birdie try to four feet. Electing to putt, Klintworth’s third shot hopped a bit as it came out of the rough, coming to rest outside of Paladino’s ball.
With the crowd on the hill above the green watching intently, Klintworth went through his routine and then, to the shock of everyone, missed his par putt.
Now, as it has been so many times before, the stage was cleared for Paladino. All that stood between the exhausted and staggered Paladino and the championship match was a four-foot slider.
Paladino took an extra moment to examine the read. Swung the putter back, swung it back through, and then watched along with the gathered crowd as the putt dropped into the bottom of the cup for a match-winning par.
Once the putt dropped, Paladino unleashed a fist pump, shook hands with Klintworth before climbing up the hill behind the green to soak his head under an ice towel. Elated and completely whipped, Paladino was through to the finals. 36 more holes for a golfer who has already played 141 this week.
“I love this tournament,” Cody Paladino said. “I’ve won once, so hopefully I’ll add another tomorrow. There was a lot of relief when that putt on No. 18 went in. I’m proud of myself. I could have easily lost, so I am proud of myself. ”
Will Lodge (CC of Darien) was the first to punch his ticket to Saturday’s 36-hole final. The recent Yale graduate started his day with a dominant 6&5 win over Chris Kono (Greenwich CC) in the quarterfinals and then defeated three-time champion Rick Dowling (Golf Performance Center) 3&2 in the semifinals.
In the semifinal match, Lodge and Dowling were tied through nine holes. However, on the back nine, Lodge found another gear.
First, he won No. 10 with a birdie. Then on the par-5 10th with a five iron from 198 yards out, he stuffed his second shot to five feet. He didn’t make the putt, but a conceded birdie was good enough for a 2-up lead.
Still 2 up, Lodge won the par-4 14th with a birdie to move to 3 up, before closing out the match with a par on No. 16, his 98th hole of the week.
Lodge, who was 7-under for 16 holes in the semifinals, will now have a chance to bookend his college career. He won the Connecticut Junior Amateur just weeks before he began his freshman year at Yale. Now he has a chance to win the Connecticut Amateur just weeks after his graduation from Yale.
“My goal for tomorrow is to keep playing the way I’m playing,” Will Lodge said. “It all comes down to whether my putts fall, and I feel like I’m stroking it nicely. I’m going to have a positive attitude and go have some fun.”
About the Connecticut State Golf Association
The Connecticut Amateur presented by Middlesex Health is one of 20 championships conducted by the Connecticut State Golf Association. The CSGA functions as an extension of the USGA and provides stewardship for amateur golf in Connecticut. Founded in 1899, it is the country’s oldest state golf association and conducts over 60 Championships, Qualifiers, and One Day Tournaments throughout the year.
