Luke Clanton, the newest sensation in golf, has recently achieved remarkable feats with two top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour. Despite his outstanding performances, Clanton, a 20-year-old American, will not receive the £627,000 in prize money he earned due to his amateur status.
Clanton’s incredible fortnight saw him finishing tied for 10th at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, followed by an impressive tied for 2nd at the John Deere Classic. This made him the first amateur since Billy Patton in 1958 to secure back-to-back top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour, earning £155,545.49 and £511,238.13 respectively. However, Clanton cannot claim these earnings until he turns professional.
Unperturbed by this, Clanton expressed his satisfaction with his performances, stating: “We came into the week with pretty high expectations. I think I kind of reached that expectation for sure. Of course, you want to win. But again, to do what I did out there today was awesome. It’s just a blessing to be here, man. It’s unreal to make a birdie on the last hole and do all that.”
Clanton’s rise in the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) from 599th to 212th underscores his impressive form. Nonetheless, he faced a similar situation to Nick Dunlap, who had to forgo $1.5 million (£1.17 million) after winning the American Express in January as an amateur.
Adding to the disappointment, Clanton narrowly missed qualifying for The Open Championship due to his world ranking position. The R&A determined that the final spot for The Open, following the John Deere Classic, would be allocated based on OWGR positions. With only two spots available for non-exempt players, the invites went to PGA Tour winner Davis Thompson and CT Pan.
Despite these setbacks, Clanton is expected to turn professional soon and is widely anticipated to become a major force in golf. He has already demonstrated his potential by competing in his first major championship, finishing T41 at the US Open earlier this year.