Luke Clanton (USGA Photo)
Luke Clanton shot a third-round 7-under 65 at the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club, Detroit, Mich., to move up 19 spots on the leaderboard and is currently T7 heading into the final round.
Clanton recorded six birdies, an eagle, and a bogey en route to the 65. He eagled No. 14 in one of the most impressively played holes of the week. Clanton drove it 327 yards into the fairway and, from 227 yards, put his second shot to three feet, making the eagle putt.
Ben James also made the cut and is T38 after a third-round 4-under 68. He jumped 22 spots up the leaderboard.
Clanton has now carded three rounds of under 70, shooting 69-68-65 heading into the final round.
ROUND TWO RECAP
Luke Clanton and Neal Shipley spent the final round of the U.S. Open battling it out for low amateur honors. Now, they are both in the top 30 of the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club in Detroit, Mich.
Clanton shot 7-under in the first two rounds to comfortably make the cut and is currently T26, while Shipley is T10 at 9-under and looking to push into contention on Saturday.
Ben James, a 2023 Walker Cupper, made the cut on the number at 4-under, while 2024 Haskins Award winner Jackson Koivun shot even par and missed the cut by four shots after making the cut in his PGA Tour debut at the Memorial Tournament earlier in the month.
15-year-old Miles Russell has an impressive PGA Tour debut, shooting rounds of 74-70 to shoot even par.
ROUND ONE RECAP
After one round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club in Detroit, Mich., the four amateurs in the field all shot even-par or better.
Luke Clanton, who recently made the cut at the U.S. Open and is the No. 1 ranked player in the Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com World Rankings, shot a first-round 3-under 69 and currently is T35.
Ben James shot a 2-under 70 and is T29, while Jackson Koivun shot an even-par 72 and is T100. 15-year-old sensation Miles Russell shot a 2-over 74 and is T128.
Michael Thorbjornsen and Neal Shipley, who both recently turned professional, are also in the field. Shipley is T9 after a first-round 5-under 67, and Thorbjornsen is T17 at 4-under.
Koivun and Russell have work to do to play the weekend since, according to DataGolf, there is a 21.1 percent chance the cut will be 5-under, a 42.7 percent chance the cut will be 4-under, and a 27.3 percent chance the cut will be 3-under.
PREVIEW
Luke Clanton, Ben James, Jackson Koivun, and Miles Russell all earned sponsor exemptions to the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club from June 27 to June 30. They will join Neal Shipley, who recently turned pro and also earned a sponsor exemption to the PGA Tour event.
Clanton recently made the cut at the U.S. Open and is the No. 1 ranked player in the Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com World Rankings and recently battled Shipley at the U.S. Open for low amateur honors. Shipley ended up winning the low amateur honors, becoming the first player since Viktor Hovland in 2019 to win low amateur honors at the Masters Tournament and the U.S. Open.
Ben James also played in the U.S. Open after finishing as the medalist in final qualifying. James and Clanton finished T2 at the NCAA individual championships, and James represented the United States in the 2023 Walker Cup.
Koivun had one of the best seasons you will see. He won the 2024 Jack Nicklaus Award, giving him a clean sweep of awards this year. He also won the Fred Haskins Award, Ben Hogan Award, and Phil Mickelson Award.
Koivun also helped Auburn win its first men’s golf national title over Florida State two weeks ago and recently made the cut at the 2024 Memorial Tournament, an event he earned a spot in after winning the Nicklaus Award.
Koivun becomes the first player to win all four major awards in the same season. He also won the SEC individual championship by an impressive six shots. Koivun was voted the SEC Freshman and Player of the Year, becoming the third man in conference history to earn both at the same time.
15-year-old Miles Russell made headlines after his impressive debut on the Korn Ferry Tour, and now he will get his chance at the PGA Tour.
Russell, a left-hander, missed qualifying for the Puerto Rico Open this spring in a Monday Qualifier. He is the youngest player to win the AJGA Player of the Year Award. In late 2023, he won the Junior Players Championship and the Boys' Junior PGA. This year, he was a runner-up in the South Beach Amateur and finished sixth in the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley.