Will Lodge wins Connecticut State Amateur

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.