Prince Protects Home Club in Long Island Amateur

HUNTINGTON, N.Y. (July 22, 2020) -- Huntington Crescent Club's very own Carter Prince finished the feat of claiming the 97th Long Island Amateur Championship Sponsored by Sterling National Bank at his home club, Wednesday, edging a past champion in extra holes in the morning semifinal before taking a 5-and-4 win in the championship match over Max Siegfried of Meadow Brook Club.

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Facing a one-hole deficit late in the semifinal, Prince made a clutch putt on the par-4 16th for birdie to tie the match. He and 2009 winner Bryan Pendrick of Mill River Club tied the next two holes with par as well as the first playoff hole. Prince's steadiness continued and a par-four on the second sealed his slot in the afternoon final.

Siegfried, who won his morning match 2-and-1 over Ryan Rittberger of Garden City Golf Club, rolled in a 12-footer for birdie to take a quick 1-up advantage after the first. However, short missed putts on the second and fourth holes helped Prince return the match to a tie instead of facing a multi-hole deficit early on.

On the fifth, Prince stuffed his approach to inside a couple feet and though Siegfried drained a lengthy putt to match birdies, the two quality swings propelled Prince's game.

"Even though we halved the hole with birdies, it gave me a lot of confidence," said Prince.

Prince rolled in a hooking 15-footer on the par-5 ninth, sparking a strong close in front of the home crowd.

"Once I made that putt on nine, I got the putter rolling," said Prince. "I just got really confident in all aspects of my game after that."

Prince added a 15-footer for birdie on the par-4 10th and another 12-footer on the par-4 12th to take a commanding 4-up advantage.

A par-four on the uphill 14th clinched the hole and the title for Prince by the 5-and-4 margin.

Though the putter closed the deal down the stretch, Prince pointed to his play off the tee all week as one of the strongest facets of his game and a key to claiming victory.

"There are a bunch of holes where driver can be an option, but it can also put you in bad places," said the 19-year-old Prince, who's a rising junior at University of Pennsylvania. "So, you really have to know where to put your tee shots and I feel like I hit the ball great off the tee with my driver, through all the matches and even stroke play. So, I took some risks, but I think it paid off."

For Prince, the excitement for the tournament—in which his previous best was a run to the quarterfinal in 2018—began last fall when he found out it would be at his home club. The excitement also brought some added pressure, of course.

"There was a lot of pressure in stroke play," said Prince. "I hold myself to a high standard, so I wanted to perform not only for myself, but for the club and the members. There were a lot of nerves and I just went into it saying, 'play smart, be confident.'"

Prince is the first player to win the Long Island Amateur at their home club since Tim Rosenhouse did so in 2012 at Engineers Country Club. The win also sparks confidence for the remainder of the summer, which now includes him playing the the 118th Met Amateur Championship at Bethpage Black next week.

"It means a lot, it just proves that I'm doing the right thing," said Prince. "It's an honor."