To say it has been the summer of Luke Clanton may be an understatement.
Five made cuts in six PGA Tour events, three of those being top-10 finishes, the first amateur to do so since Jack Nicklaus in 1961. A runner-up finish at the NCAA Championships. Three collegiate wins dating to the spring.
On Wednesday, Clanton was awarded the Mark H. McCormack Medal as the leading male in the 2024 World Amateur Golf Ranking.
“Winning the McCormack Medal is an honor I will cherish forever,” Clanton said in a release. “This award represents not just my efforts, but also the incredible family support I have. This will inspire me to keep pushing boundaries and to pursue my dreams with even greater determination. I’m proud to join the ranks of those who have achieved this distinction.”
Next summer, Clanton earned exemptions into the 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont and the 2025 Open Championship at Royal Portrush.
The American rose to the top of the men’s ranking after a Round of 64 victory at the U.S. Amateur at Hazeltine National Golf Club last week. Over the summer, Clanton became the first amateur to record consecutive top 10s on the PGA Tour since 1958. A week after finishing T-10 in the 2024 Rocket Mortgage Classic, the Florida State first-team All-American finished runner-up in the John Deere Classic. He most recently recorded a solo fifth place finish at the Wyndham Championship in North Carolina.
Clanton also made his U.S. Open debut at Pinehurst and became the first amateur in championship history to record consecutive rounds in the 60s with back-to-back 69s in the second and third rounds. He would finish T-41.
During this past collegiate season at Florida State University, Clanton finished fifth in the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship and fifth in the NCAA Stanford (Calif.) Regional, leading the Seminoles to the NCAA Championship, where they fell to Auburn in the championship final. Clanton shared runner-up honors with five other golfers in the NCAA Division I Championship at the Omni La Costa Resort’s North Course, one stroke behind winner Hiroshi Tai of Georgia Tech. Clanton went 2-1 in match play, losing to Auburn’s JM Butler in the championship match, 2 and 1.
Now, Clanton turns his sights toward earning a PGA Tour card, which he could do before finishing his junior year.
Thanks to PGA Tour University Accelerated, players earn points based on their accomplishments in college, amateur and professional golf, and they will earn PGA Tour membership if they amass at least 20 points by the end of their third year of NCAA eligibility. Clanton is at 14 points, and there’s a good chance he gets to 20 by next spring.
He gets points for every made cut and top 10 in PGA Tour events. Three points are also up for grabs for every major college golf postseason award. For majors, he gets points for competing in them, making the cut and placing top 20.
It’s likely Clanton will get a few more Tour starts, and he’s guaranteed spots in two major championships. Dominate the college level this season, win some awards, and Clanton could join Gordon Sargent as players to earn a Tour card and making the jump after the NCAA Championship next May.
