Had you surveyed the field for Monday’s U.S. Open local qualifier at Shorehaven CC in Norwalk, Conn., and suggested Cody Paladino (West Hartford, Conn.), Nick Maccario (Haverhill, Mass.), and Brad Tilley (Easton, Conn.) were strong bets to advance, consider yourself a savvy observer of the national mid-am landscape.
All three did indeed move on to the next stage.
Paladino, the 2021 New England Amateur champion and a constant presence on leaderboards whenever he tees it up, finished bogey-bogey but still had enough red on his scorecard to earn medalist honors at 2-under 69.
Maccario, who made it to the semifinals of the 2021 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship on Nantucket, went off a few groups later in the morning wave and played a steadier round of golf that had him at level par through 17. When he birdied the par-4 18th for 70, the recent runner-up at the Gasparilla had no idea how valuable it would be. That’s because when Gregory Bisconti of New York and Raymond Floyd of Turnbridge, Vt. – son of the World Golf Hall of Famer – also shot 70s, it meant there’d be a playoff at 71 for the fifth and final spot.