As it turned out, the Staten Island Amateur Championship at Richmond County Country Club on Sunday was as it should have been. Ryan Campbell and Pete Meurer, the top two performers in the qualifying round, squared off against each other on a perfect afternoon with Campbell besting the former champion, 3 & 2, and add his own name to the list of Island champions.
Facing a former champion in Meurer and having to navigate difficult greens and pin placements, the 28-year-old lefty was steady throughout.
“You try to be aggressive when you can,” said Campbell of his approach around the greens. “But, even if you go two feet past the hole on some greens, you could roll down and have 10 or 12 feet coming back. The pins are in such tough locations that you have to be very careful.”
From the start, both golfers served notice that this would be a back-and-forth affair. Meurer hit his approach shot to within three feet and rolled in the putt for birdie to go one up. Campbell got even with a birdie on the par-3 third before Meurer came right back with a birdie on the fourth to take the lead.
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The match began to turn in Campbell’s favor on the eighth hole, a short, 360-yard par 4. Both golfers found the fairway and had decent looks at a brutal pin placement that was in the back of the green just in front of a steeply-sloped green. Meurer’s approach shot seemed to be on target but didn’t hold the green, rolling off the back. He then hit what looked to be a beautiful chip for a tap-in par that, instead, found the slope and ran some 30 feet past the hole; eventually taking bogey.
Campbell’s second shot landed in just about the same spot but spun back off the slope, giving him a birdie opportunity. He would two-putt to take the hole and draw even in the match.
“That’s the way I hit my wedges,” said Campbell. “I hit a gap wedge there and got the spin. It makes a big difference when you can do…
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