After four days of golf at the 121st Connecticut Amateur hosted by the Country Club of Darien just two golfers remain – 2013 champion Cody Paladino and two-time champion Rick Dowling. The two will face each other in the 36-hole championship match set to begin at 7:30 a.m. on Friday morning.

The two will be squaring off for the first time in the Connecticut Amateur since Paladino got the better of Dowling in a 20-hole quarterfinal match two years ago at Hartford Golf Club.

In order to reach the finals both players had to navigate through a pair of matches on a picture perfect day for golf. The day for Rick Dowling (Golf Performance Center) began on the par-3 16th hole where he had to finish up his suspended Round of 16 match against Jackson Fretty (Greenwich CC). Matching pars did the trick as Dowling closed out a 3&2 victory to advance to the quarterfinals where he faced Kyle St. Pierre (Newton CC), a winner in 21 holes early Thursday morning against Ben Day (New Haven CC).

St. Pierre controlled much of the match leading 3 up with three holes remaining but Dowling clawed his way back. Beginning on the par-3 16th he dripped in a 50-foot birdie to win the hole and stay alive. On the following hole he rolled in a 10-footer for birdie sending the match to the closing par-5. Playing aggressively Dowling hit a 3-wood approach shot into the green leaving himself a straight forward up and down for birdie, his third straight to tie the match. With all the momentum on his side, Dowling won the match with a par on the first extra hole.

“I felt like I didn’t have anything the first 14 or 15 holes in the quarterfinals this morning,” said Dowling who lost in the finals last year. “Then in the new match (this afternoon) I almost had a fresh start. I had more energy and I felt like I had nothing to lose. It felt like I was playing with house money (this afternoon).”

Playing free and loose in the semifinals Dowling bested AJ Ouimet (CC of Waterbury) 3&2. Picking up right where he left off Dowling won the first hole of the match and never looked back. Leading 2 up after five holes Dowling hit a remarkable shot out of a fairway bunker on the par-4 sixth to 15 feet setting up a birdie that pushed the lead to 3 up. The lead swelled to 4 up with a victory on the par-4 ninth, putting Dowling in position to close out the match on No. 16.

“I’m excited to be in the finals again,” said Dowling. “The way I played this morning I didn’t really expect to reach the championship match but I pulled something out of the hat in the end.”

Dowling’s opponent Cody Paladino (Hartford GC) punched his ticket into the finals thanks to a 2&1 win over Rick Hayes (Silver Spring CC) in the quarterfinals and a 6&5 semifinal victory over Tommy Dallahan (Hartford GC).

“This afternoon I played the best I have played all week,” Paladino said. “Tommy is a great player and I expected it to be a tight match but he didn’t have his best stuff and I played solid. I hit a decent amount of greens and made some up and downs which is encouraging for myself.”

In the semifinals, Paladino got off to a quick start leading 2 up after five holes. With a chance to step on the gas Paladino stuffed his approach shot on the par-4 sixth from 135 yards out to tap in range. With the lead 3 up Paladino didn’t let up earning victories on Nos. 7, 11, and 12.

“Going into tomorrow I am ecstatic,” said Paladino who was the runner-up at the Connecticut Amateur in both 2020 and 2021. “In the 36-hole championship match there are a lot of ebbs and flows and you have to sustain your play. You punch, they punch. I kind of understand that having been in the finals before.”

Courtesy Connecticut State G.A.

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