Although he may still be an amateur, Luke Clanton plays, acts, and conducts himself like a professional golfer. And one more top-5 finish at the Farmers Insurance Open this week will make him just that.
Florida State’s Luke Clanton remarkably closing in on PGA Tour card at Torrey Pines
The top-ranked amateur in the world, Luke Clanton, could very well earn his PGA Tour card this week.
Jack Milko has been playing golf since he was five years old. He has yet to record a hole-in-one, but he did secure an M.A. in Sports Journalism from St. Bonaventure University.
Clanton has amassed 17 points through the PGA Tour’s Accelerated program, which awards top college players points based on their accomplishments in college, amateur, and professional golf events. Whoever earns a total of 20 points by the end of their junior year automatically receives a PGA Tour card.
Still a junior, Clanton is currently the top-ranked amateur in the world, which awards him five points.
Should an amateur compete in any PGA Tour event, DP World Tour event, or a major championship, they earn one point for making the cut. You receive an additional point for posting a top-10 finish and another point on top of that for finishing among the top-5.
Therefore, Clanton will receive three points for finishing among the top-5 at Torrey Pines, thus securing a PGA Tour card.
He’s in a terrific position midway through the second round — when PGA Tour officials suspended play due to the 35-mile-per-hour gusts. But the Santa Ana winds did not phase Clanton on Thursday, unlike many others in the field. The Florida State Seminole was 3-under through 10 holes and tied for third when the horn sounded. Nobody else had posted anything lower than that.
Clanton fired a 2-under 70 on day one and, therefore, was 5-under overall at the time of the suspension. Should he continue to play well, he will all but lock up his PGA Tour card.
He has posted top-5 finishes before, last doing so at The RSM Classic in November. He also finished fifth at the Wyndham Championship last August and recorded another T-2 at the John Deere Classic a few weeks before that.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Follow him on X @jack_milko.
