Top amateur Luke Clanton earns PGA Tour card after made cut at Cognizant Classic
Luke Clanton needs one more point to earn his PGA Tour card. (FSU Athletics)
Luke Clanton has earned his PGA Tour card.
After making the cut at the Cognizant Classic, Clanton earned his 20th point through the PGA Tour University Accelerated Program, and 20 points gets him a PGA Tour card once his collegiate season ends. He got his 19th point after holding the top spot in the World Amateur Golf Ranking for a year.
Clanton enters the weekend only three shots off the lead after rounds of 67-66. He is T8 and rose 20 spots in the second round.
In truly dominant fashion, he accumulated all 20 points in a nine-month span.
"It has been an incredible journey with the team I have," Clanton said. "To get it done, and especially here at this event. It is an honor. To be on the PGA Tour now, I can't even express it."
Clanton added, "I saw my mom and dad before the bunker shot and tried not to tear up. To get it done and make a birdie on the last was a dream come true."
When asked if he would turn pro or stay at Florida State for his senior year, Clanton said "I got no clue." He can't turn pro until June, so he has time to celebrate and figure it out.
Clanton is the No. 1 in the Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com World Rankings.
PREVIEW
Luke Clanton will take another crack at earning his PGA Tour card this week in the Cognizant Classic at PGA National. If he makes the cut this week, he will earn his 20th point in the PGA Tour accelerated program.
The junior from Florida State is looking to become just the second player to earn a PGA Tour card through the program. Gordon Sargent earned 20 points in October 2023 and has remained at Vanderbilt with plans to turn pro after he completes his senior season this May.
Earlier this month, Clanton came agonizingly close to earning that final point at the WM Phoenix Open. After stumbling on Thursday with a 74, Clanton was in a tough position to make the cut. However, he battled back on Friday and had a 15-foot putt on the final hole to make the cut. It just slid past the hole, sending him back to Tallahassee with 19 points.
“I don't think I've ever dealt with pressure like that before, so I'm learning every single week,” he said following the round. “I kept trying to tell myself my identity is not going to change my mind. I can make a cut or miss the cut. You know. Again, it's golf. It's not going to go your way all the time.”
Since that close call, Clanton won the Watersound Invitational with rounds of 73-66-67. His performance also helped the Seminoles win the team title.
There is a bitter-sweet angle to this story, as Clanton will not be with his Florida State teammates at the Cabo Collegiate Classic this week. While his team will be in another country, Clanton is teeing it up close to home, and to lock up his professional status just 65 miles from his hometown of Haileah, Florida, where he learned the game would be a cherry on top of this incredible run he’s been on the last eight months, starting with the U.S. Open at Pinehurst.
Clanton will tee it up at 7:07 am off the tenth tee with Max Greyserman and Daniel Berger.