Forrester joins Harlock atop the Monroe Invitational leaderboard

July 7, 2022 | by AmateurGolf.com Staff

Bartley Forrester (Credit: Monroe Invitational)

Eleven golfers are within four strokes of the lead at the halfway point in Pittsford, NY

Georgia Tech’s Bartley Forrester carded the low round of the day with a 5-under 65, moving into a tie for first place with Cameron Harlock at 6-under par following Thursday’s second round action of the 81st Monroe Invitational. Harlock, the first round leader at 4-under, carded a 2-under 68 on the second day with three birdies and a bogey.

Miami's (Fla.) Danny Fisher shot a 66. He sits in a tie for third place at 3 under for the tournament with Will Thomson, Steve Campbell Jr., Laurent Desmarchais, and Everett Whiten.

Forrester has been on quite the tear recently. The 50th ranked amateur by Golfweek/AGC in the country qualified for his second U.S. Amateur Championship at Standard Club in Johns Creek, Ga.

“This past semester in college was definitely the best I’ve played. I’m glad I’m able to continue that into the summer", Forrester said. "Hopefully I can keep that going as long as I can. The game feels really good."

Birdies have come in bunches for the Gainesville, Ga. native over the opening rounds. He made seven on Thursday and three in round one. He's using last year's 20th place finish to help him this year.

“Coming back to a course where you’ve already played four competitive rounds, that kind of gives you a leg up on a lot of other guys," Forrester said. "You kind of know where to hit it already — where to miss it, where not to miss it.”

Harlock will sleep on the lead for a second consecutive night, it didn't seem to have an impact after round one.

“I feel comfortable off the tee which I knew was going to be important for me this week," Harlock said. "I just need to execute the plan I’ve had for the last few days — I’ve really put myself in a good spot moving forward.”

The New Zealand native is excited to ramp up the competition this summer after spending the last two years back home due to the pandemic. While the competition the last two years in his homeland wasn’t quite what he was hoping for in his young career, he says he was able to make the most of it with a competitive group of friends back home.

Harlock is enrolling as a junior at Boston College this fall, so playing in competitive events prior to his arrival on campus is essential.

“Leading into the college season I knew it was important to get out and really challenge myself this summer with some big events," Harlock said. "I wanted to really come out and see where my game was at — a bit of a feeler before I started college.”

Related: Monroe Invitational Preview
Related: Monroe round one recap

Texas Longhorn Will Thomson, who grew up playing Monroe Golf Club, fired a 3-under par 67 in round two.

“It’s so much fun — I love coming back up here.”

Thomson is playing in his sixth Monroe Invitational this week with his best finish coming in 2018 when he was 27th.

“I always miss Rochester in general — my friends, just the overall feeling; golf courses like this. It’s great to come back to Monroe.”

The rising senior at Texas says he basically grew up on the course and is a fan of the recent changes to the layout.

“I love all the changes that they have made — taking out the trees and with 12 (a new green placement), everything looks great. It really is fun feeling back at home when I come back here.”

Ohio State's Jackson Chandler, Jake Griffin of Penn State, Isaac Simmons of Liberty, and Yaroslav Merkulov are tied for eighth place at 2-under.

The Monroe Invitational contributed to this report

Results: Monroe Invitational

Place	Player	Location	Pts	Scores
1	Bartley Forrester	Gainesville, GA	700	69-65-64-71=269
2	Jackson Chandler	Dublin, OH	500	68-70-66-68=272
3	Luke Wells	Springfield, OH	400	72-69-64-68=273
4	Yaroslav Merkulov	Penfield, NY	400	69-69-68-71=277
5	Mikkel Mathiesen	, Denmark	400	74-67-68-69=278

View full results for Monroe Invitational

About the Monroe Invitational

Forrester joins Harlock atop the Monroe Invitational leaderboard

The Monroe Invitational is held at Monroe Golf Club in Pittsford, NY, and is one of the oldest amateur tournaments in the United States, dating back to its first playing in 1937. The course is a Donald Ross design that is a Golfweek Top 100 Classic C...