2020 Connecticut Amateur champion Chris Fosdick (CSGA photo)
The PGA Tour is not the only high-quality golf being played in Connecticut this week.
Shorehaven Golf Club played host to the 118th Connecticut Amateur Championship, bringing out the region’s best juniors and amateurs.
The match play event concluded on Thursday following a decathlon of golf as the event set the field with 36-holes of stroke play and two rounds of match play on Tuesday and Wednesday.
University of Virginia transfer Chris Fosdick came back home to secure the first win of his career.
Facing Cody Paladino who is 12 years his elder, Fosdick (19) found himself 5-down through 16 of the 36 hole championship match. Winning No. 17 with a par, the momentum swung back in Fosdick’s favor when he drilled a 25-foot birdie putt on No. 18 to cut Paladino’s lead to three.
“It’s hard not to get down when you’re behind 5 holes after 16,” Fosdick told the Connecticut State Golf Association. “But you have to know that you still have twenty holes left. It’s not over till it’s over so you kind of hang in. The par on 17 in the morning and the 25-footer I made on 18, very aggressive, but that just gave me a lot of momentum heading into the second 18. I knew I needed to leave myself a little hope, and if I did that I could be aggressive with some putts and maybe roll some in. I had to go really low to win.”
Paladino reciprocated the sentiment.
“It’s match play, so you know you’re going to have the ups and downs," Paladino said. "Chris was exceptional. It’s not like I started playing really poorly or anything like that."
Winning holes 19, 21, and 27 on the day, Fosdick tied the match as the pair headed to the final nine holes. Beginning on No. 27, Fosdick won four of the next five holes, gaining a 3-up advantage.
Not going down without a fight, Paladino won the 32nd hole and won the 34th hole with an eagle, buying himself a full 36 holes. Splitting pars on the closing two holes, Fosdick completed the comeback to win 1-up.
Fosdick nearly opted to play in the Monday qualifier for the PGA Tour's Travelers Championship which is being played just down the road. Sticking to his prior commitment to play in the State Amateur surely paid off.
"I think I made the right call," he quipped.
ABOUT THE Connecticut Amateur
The Connecticut Amateur Championship is one of
the
nation’s oldest state amateur golf championships
and
is one of 19 championship tournaments conducted
by
the Connecticut State Golf Association. The
challenging format tests the state's best amateur
golfers over two rounds of stroke play to determine
the low thirty-two match play qualifiers. Two rounds
of match play each day culminate in a thirty-six hole
final to crown the top amateur player in Connecticut.
View Complete Tournament Information