Antonio Montenora '24 Recruiting Profile

     I was introduced to golf at the young age of 5.  My father would take me to the range, and I would hit some balls with a club that was purchased from Dick's.   By the time I was 7 I was playing more and even started to play on courses.  As I got older and grew to love the game more, I started to play in U.S Kids Tournaments and even participated in the annual Drive, Chip and Putt events.  During the summers I would learn more about the game by attending camps through TGA of Southern Westchester and The First Tee (Southern Westchester region).  The First Tee was a great experience and taught me a lot about golf etiquette and respect for both myself and others.   During the school year, I attended weekly classes through TGA and played team competitions on the weekends.    When I was 11, my family moved from New York to North Carolina so that I could have better golf opportunities and play more.  Since moving to North Carolina, I have played for my 7th and 8th grade middle school teams as well as my 9th and 10th grade high school teams.   During my first 2 summers in North Carolina, I attended camps sponsored by the PGA at Stonebridge Golf Club and Marc Lapointe Golf Academy.  I also participate in the winter session of the WJPA tournaments.  When I am not on the course, I am either practicing on our backyard putting green, our simulator or in my room studying.  Good grades together with my golf game will help me be a well-rounded, balanced contributor to my team as well as to society.

     In my free time, I love to video chat and play video games with my friends back in New York.  It keeps me in touch with them and we have fun.  I also have a sketch book where I draw out a design for a hole or jot down ideas for designs for golf courses.  For the summer of 2022, I have been volunteering at The First Tee of Greater Charlotte.  I am working with the "Teenie Tinies(7-9 yo)" , the next generation of golfers practice their beginner skills.  They refer to me as Coach Antonio.  It has been a lot of fun.  In college I would like to study Golf Course management and the finance or economic side of business.  Since we moved to North Carolina I have been able to play at a lot of beautiful, challenging and historic courses.  I love to play at Pinehurst but one of my favorite courses is Pinehurst #4 and I love to play the Cradle.

     I would love to play for a collegiate team.  One of my favorites moments in golf was a team tournament where I sunk a difficult 8' right to left putt for the win.  I am a more reserved, quiet person but when I sunk that putt, I let out a "Yeah".  That felt AMAZING!  Golf is typically a solo sport but I loved the feeling of playing with a team.  We lose as a team, and we win as a team.  The camaraderie of working together and individually towards a common goal feels great.