Young Talent

15-year old Lev Grinberg (link to original article) from Ukraine is ranked 205th according to WAGR. Grinberg has golfed on some big stages early in his career, including making the cut and being the top amateur in 2022 at the DP World Tour Soudal Open at the age of 14. In 2023, he has his sights set on qualifying for the European Junior Ryder Cup Team, which currently ranks fourth in points accumulated. The top three point scorers from nine earmarked events automatically qualify to play in the Junior Ryder Cup in Rome from September 26-28, while three others make the team as captains picks. With one more event to play in the R & A Boys’ Amateur Championship in mid-August, Grinberg is on the cusp of qualifying – the team will fully be announced at the end of August. 

Danish Presence

The top player in the field (45th) according to WAGR is Gustav Friedmont (TCU) of Denmark, will be joined by three fellow countrymen in teammate Jacob Skove Olesen, along with Jonathan Nielsen (Clemson) and Mikkel Mathiesen (Wright State). In 2022, Frimodt won the Danish International Amateur Championship by seven strokes. Mathiesen currently is 282nd in the WAGR rankings, while Nielsen just finished in seventh place at this year’s 2023 Danish International Amateur Championship. 

Ivy, With A Sprinkle of Italy

Ricardo Fantinelli hails from Rome, Italy. In his freshman campaign at Princeton, he won the Prestige Individual Invite, in addition to the Ivy League Championship. He won the Ivy League championship by four strokes, firing rounds of 72, 70 and 69 to finish 5-under. Fantinelli was the Ivy League Rookie of the Year and earned first-team All-Ivy honors.

Macao

Ngai Si, a rising senior at the University of San Diego, is from Macao, an autonomous region on the south coast of China. He finished seventh at the West Coast Conference Championships (April 27-29) with a five-under 211 (69, 69, 73).

South Africa

A South African contingent will be in Pittsford, NY with Reece Coleman and Kian Rose joining the field. Coleman, the 726th-ranked player according to WAGR, who plays collegiately at Georgia Southern, has 12 top 10 finishes including taking third place at the Palmetto Amateur July 3rd.

Other Countries Represented

Argentina, Australia, Canada, England, Ireland, Puerto Rico, Thailand, Wales will all be represented at the 82nd Monroe Invitational.