Will Lodge wins Connecticut State Amateur

June 14, 2026 | by Connecticut State Golf Association

Will Lodge (CSGA photo)

At West Hartford's Wampanoag CC, the CC of Darien member defeated Cody Paladino of Hartford GC in a 36-hole final

Two stretches and a whole lot of grit determined the outcome of the 124th Connecticut presented by Middlesex Health. The first stretch came during the middle portion of the opening round of the 36-hole title match. The second came early in the afternoon round. Both helped Will Lodge win the 124th Connecticut Amateur.

After the first nine holes of the championship match at Wampanoag Country Club, Will Lodge (CC of Darien) was 1 down to Cody Paladino (Hartford GC). As the players made the turn on a brilliantly sunny day, it felt as if the momentum of the match was on Paladino's side.

However, momentum can be a funny thing. There one moment and gone the next. As the two stepped to the tee on the par-4 10th, it felt as if Paladino held the match's momentum. By the time the two stepped to the tee on No. 15, Lodge held a 3-up lead he would never relinquish and all the momentum.

Lodge began to wrestle the momentum away from Paladino on the par-4 10th. Both players had birdie looks, but it was Lodge who converted, tying the match. One hole later, the recent Yale graduate took the lead for the first time with an eagle and then extended his advantage to 2 up with a victory on the par-3 13th.

Not done yet, Lodge added one more birdie with a three on No. 14, making his advantage 3-up.

"Going to 10, I knew I needed to make something happen," Will Lodge said. "It was a grindy front nine. Then I made the birdie on No. 10 and then got hot from there, which was really, really fun."

Following the surge, Lodge held serve the remainder of the opening round, and after 18 holes, he walked into the clubhouse for the lunchtime break with a 3-up advantage. A lead that is big enough to make you feel like you are in control of the match, but small enough to make it feel like the match could swing either way. When play resumed just before 12:30 p.m., it appeared as if the latter would be true. Lodge pushed his opening tee ball on No. 1 right and into the rough, resulting in a bogey that allowed Paladino to win the hole with a par and trim the deficit to 2 down.

Matching pars on Nos. 2 and 3 set the stage for the second key stretch of the match. Lodge found the fairway on the nearly 500-yard par-5 fourth. Meanwhile, Paladino missed the fairway right and lost his second shot into the fescue left of the green.

Lodge, with a green light yardage, went pin seeking to a back right pin location, but lost his ball just a bit to the right and ended up in a bunker. Lodge had little green to work with, but when Paladino had to take a drop due to an unplayable lie resulting in a bogey, it felt as if Lodge would be able to manage a par that would return his advantage to 3 up.

Not the case. Instead, he barely got out of the bunker with his third coming to rest in the rough. His fourth went maybe a foot, and his fifth went racing seven feet past the hole. Now needing a bogey just to tie the hole, Lodge drained the putt.

It was a save that proved to be crucial as on the ensuing hole, Paladino provided the highlight of the day, draining his second shot from the fairway of the par-4 fifth for an eagle that won the hole and brought him to within 1 down.

Speaking after the match about Paladino's eagle, Lodge said, "the eagle in the afternoon was funny because I was a bit unsettled going into the afternoon. I wasn't playing my best golf on those first four holes, especially on hole four. And then Cody holed out, and honestly, I kind of took it as a complete reset. It made me laugh because I was just like, all right, but it ended up being the reset I needed. I credit that as a turning point for me."

In fact, the victory on the fifth would be the last of the day for Paladino.

The refocused Lodge and Paladino, the 2013 champion playing in his sixth final, tied the next three holes before Lodge made a statement birdie on the par-3 ninth to push his lead to 2 up as the two headed for the back nine.

On the back nine, Lodge never blinked as the two matched blow for blow for the next six holes. Every time it seemed as if Paladino might have a small opening, Lodge had an answer as the two traded clutch 8-10 foot putts for much of the back nine.

The trading of putts ended up meaning one thing. The number of holes remaining was dwindling, and time was on the side of Lodge. On the par-3 16th, it was officially his time.

With Lodge still leading 2 up, Paladino went long off the back of the green while Lodge landed his tee shot 15 feet from the pin. Needing to be aggressive, Paladino sent his chip past the cup and off the green and then ran his par attempt by as well.

Now knowing a two-putt would deal the final blow, Lodge rolled his birdie try to within two feet, and when Paladino missed his bogey attempt, the match was over, and Will Lodge was the last man standing. A 3&2 winner.

"It was such a battle all day long," said Lodge. "There were times when I felt like I was definitely going to win. There were times when I felt like I was definitely going to lose. It's phenomenal. It's such an amazing event, and I couldn't be happier to be the champion."

With the win, Lodge became just the sixth player to win both the Connecticut Junior Amateur and Connecticut Amateur. The win also meant that Lodge had bookmarked his Yale career with CSGA victories. Lodge won the Connecticut Junior Amateur in 2022, just weeks before he began his freshman year at Yale, and with his win at Wampanoag CC, he won the Connecticut Amateur just weeks after his Yale graduation.

The win also earned Lodge an exemption into the 2026 U.S. Amateur to be played from August 10-16 at Merion Golf Club.

"When I was 10 years old, I got to play Merion GC with (now PGA Tour rookie) Ben James and our dads," Lodge said. "It was one of the most special days of my life. So 12 years on, to go back for a U.S. Amateur is going to be pretty special. It'll be phenomenal."

Phenomenal indeed. Just like his performance at the 124th Connecticut Amateur.

Results: Connecticut Amateur

Place	Player	Location	Pts
Win	Will Lodge	Darien, CT	200
Runner-up	Cody Paladino	West Hartford, CT	100
Semifinals	Richard Dowling	Shelton, CT	50
Semifinals	Angus Klintworth	, South Africa	50

View full results for Connecticut Amateur

About the Connecticut Amateur

Will Lodge wins Connecticut State 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 g...