SamsonovGolf Invitational 2025: The Path of Che Guevara
On August 16, the picturesque MillCreek Golf Club hosted not just a tournament, but a celebration of spirit, freedom, family, and team unity: the SamsonovGolf Invitational 2025: The Path of Che Guevara.
Anton Samsonov, a well-known golf pro and author of the most popular channel on golf tips in Russia and the CIS countries — SamsonovGolf — and creator of the GolfLessons.RF project, invited participants of his golf camps, as well as subscribers to his channel, to the famous MillCreek Golf Club in the Northern Capital!
All golfers received special gifts from tournament partners, which immediately put the participants in a sunny mood! Branded Titleist caps, special bottles from partner friends, and, of course, delicious apples straight from the Lipetsk region for a positive mood!
Early in the morning, as the golfers gathered for registration, it started to rain! It was as if nature was testing who was really ready to compete on the Scottish-style MillCreek – St. Andrews course, which fully lived up to its name! But after breakfast and a photo session with Anton Samsonov against the backdrop of the bright Che Guevara-style photo zone of the tournament, all participants were greeted by warm sunshine on the practice field for the announcement of the rules.
Anton Samsonov talked about the dynamic format of the tournament: 2 people in a team scramble with 25% of the handicap taken into account! This means that every shot will be worth its weight in gold, and team synergy is an important key to victory.
Next, together with Alexei Molodtsov, creator of golf trikes for golf in Russia (hole-in-one.ru), Anton and Alexei talked about the launch of new golf trikes and a new project from Rosgosstrakh to insure prizes for hitting the hole on the first shot! The Che Guevara Tournament was one of the first to support the idea by placing a special Golf Trike prize on the 17th hole, organizing a live broadcast on the club's channel, and using a special insurance product from Rosgosstrakh. After all, innovation and new ideas are what MillCreek is all about!
After a group photo and wishes for a good game, all 74 golfers set out to conquer the golf course, while Anton Samsonov held a master class for friends and partners on the practice course together with Mikhail Lavrinenko, golf director of the MillCreek club.
Thanks to the tournament partners, the Meat Coin restaurant chain, a BBQ lunch was organized on the golf course, where golfers could enjoy exquisite dishes from the chef and leisurely enjoy the pleasant weather that the Leningrad region presented to golfers on this summer day!
After 18 holes, all golfers were able to immerse themselves in a little Havana, which was prepared on the MillCreek summer beach! Massages from tournament partners ERGONOVA, Cuban cigars, refreshing cocktails, and, of course, a beautiful show from Meat Coin on steak preparation accompanied by a performance from a Cuban band left no one indifferent!
Anton Samsonov, together with the charming host Ksenia, thanked all golfers for their support of the first SamsonovGolf Invitational tournament: Che Guevara's Path 2025, noting that Che Guevara had been in St. Petersburg, played golf, and that his positive attitude toward a new future was perfectly reflected in the concept of golfers striving to play their best and lower their handicaps!
Before the official award ceremony, Anton Samsonov thanked Maria Yakusheva and Alexei Burlakov, along with other coaches of the 2025 golf season, for their work with young golfers in the MillCreek children's camps, which have been creating a positive atmosphere and introducing young golfers to the world of golf for several years now! After the award ceremony for the 6th camp session, Anton Samsonov announced the winners in the junior competition:
KIDS TROPHY
1. Yakov Gontarev and Igor Karimov — 66 Net
2. Alexei Burlakov and Anastasia Bakakina — 79.25 Net
3. Elena Molodtsova and Lev Molodtsov — 79.5 Net
Special attention was paid to young talents, as among the participants was Lev Molodtsov, who confidently completed all 18 holes for the first time, even though he had only turned 4 a week ago!
Next, Anton Samsonov invited all the lovely ladies to compete in the Closest Shot competition, where the golf department team had set up a hole across the pool! The ladies received a lot of support, and Alexandra Shmakova proved to be the best, hitting the ball straight into the hole and winning the prize for the most accurate golfer of the tournament!
The most accurate golfer among the men was Sergey Petrov.
The longest shots of the tournament were made by Fedor Drygin and Anna Bakakina.
The Shepelev family won the special nomination for “The Most Stylish Couple of the Tournament”! Maxim and Maryana prepared special outfits for the golf course and a chic Cuban-style look for the evening program!
The best score for a two-person team without a handicap was minus 1 (71 strokes for 18 holes) by Sergey Petrov and Sergey Koynov, who received gifts from their partners' friends and a special prize from GMS Clinics for golfers!
The final standings were as follows:
3rd place - Tatiana Ponomareva and Olga Molodtsova — 72.5 Net
2nd place - Alexey Semyonov and Sergey Sinitsa — 72 Net
1st place - Andrey Krylov and Barseg Aleksanyan — 70.75 Net
In addition to gifts from the tournament partners, the winners of the friends category received certificates for two people for a weekend at the Palmira Palace Resort & SPA 5* hotel in Crimea!
The family standings were as follows:
3rd place: Evgeny Kramarenko and Ekaterina Kramarenko — 67.50 Net
2nd place: Egor Drygin and Fyodor Drygin — 66.75 Net
1st place: Anton Bobrik and Alina Bobrik — 65.25 Net
The first-place winners in the family competition won a weekend at Gloria Golf Hotels, one of Turkey's most popular hotels for golfers, as well as the winter base in Turkey for SamsonovGolf golf camps.
Thanks to the tournament's partners, there were plenty of gifts at the tournament! These ranged from branded golf umbrellas, backpacks, and special Titleist sets for golfers to gifts from the renowned cosmetics brand MilaMarcel, designer gifts for the lovely ladies from Cashmere and Silk, along with gifts from MedEs Clinic, VIP AVENUE, and Grand Palace Cinema. The entertainment program and designer tournament cups were prepared by Alla Belova, one of Moscow's leading luxury real estate brokers, and Porsche Travel Experience, represented by Alexander Kachurin, presented designer gifts from Porsche to the winners of the family competition, talking about Porsche Tours to Karelia and the Baikonur Cosmodrome.
After the official award ceremony, the Cuban atmosphere continued: live music, warm conversations about golf camps, successful shots, and meetings between golfers from different cities. There was a spirit of adventure and freedom in the air — in the spirit of Che himself.
Subscribe to Anton Samsonov's channel for more detailed coverage of the tournament: https://t.me/Samsonov_Golf
The SamsonovGolf Invitational 2025 was not just a tournament—it was a continuation of the friendship between Anton and his team of golfers. Filled with passion, family values, friendship among golfers from different cities, and love for the game, this tournament became a great occasion for all SamsonovGolf participants and subscribers to get together.
Thank you to every golfer, organizer, guest, and everyone who shared this day in the company of real golfers together with Anton Samsonov at the best golf club in the Leningrad region!
See you at the sunny SamsonovGolf gatherings in Baku, Azerbaijan, and Turkey in the fall of 2025, where we will continue the journey of “Che”!