FSU golfer Luke Clanton becomes first amateur in 66 years with back-to-back Top 10 finishes

Florida State golfer Luke Clanton made the most of his sponsor exemption this week at the John Deere Classic (TPC Deere Run). He managed to fire 24-under par for the weekend, finishing in a three-way tie for second place. And the amateur put himself in rarified air with the unreal heater he’s been on in his past two starts on the PGA Tour. Clanton, in just his third start on the PGA Tour, became the first amateur with back-to-back Top 10 finishes since Billy Patton did it in 1958. Simply incredible stuff from the FSU star.

Clanton at the John Deere Classic
Amateur and sponsor exemption Luke Clanton is making his third start on TOUR following a T10 at last week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic.

Last amateur to finish top 10 in back-to-back starts on TOUR was Billy Patton:
T8/1957 U.S. Open
T8/1958 Masters

— PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) July 7, 2024

Clanton’s remarkable accomplishment is just another firm reminder of just how insanely talented many of the young golfers are coming through the college ranks. He birdied four of his last five holes on Sunday to finish with a 63, shooting a 30 on the back nine at TPC Deere Run. Once the dust had settled, he shot 63-67-67-63 for the tournament to put himself in the record books.

Clanton also fired a 14-under par in the Rocket City Mortgage Classic a week ago. That put him in a tie for 10th place in that one. He’s put together some incredible ball striking in the past two weeks. Clanton was second in the field in strokes gained off the tee at the Rocket City Mortgage Classic. And this week, he was second in strokes gained approach-the-green.

When he finished in a tie for 10th at the Rocket City Mortgage, he was joined by Nick Dunlap, yet another budding star on the PGA Tour, who recently became the first amateur to win an event on tour since Phil Mickelson did it in 1991.

Davis Thompson, a former Georgia star, brought home the win on Sunday at TPC Deere Run. Not only did he get his first win on the PGA Tour, but he carded a 28-under par, setting a tournament scoring record in the process. It was his first win in his 63rd career start on the PGA Tour.

The future is clearly bright for the game of golf, no doubt about it. With numbers like he’s been posting lately, Clanton will likely hear more chatter about possibly turning professional. But he has expressed interest in bringing a national championship to Florida State before turning pro. So, it’ll be interesting to see if he changes his mind in the future. In the latest Golfweek/Amateurgolf.com World Rankings, he’s currently ranked as the No. 1 amateur golfer in the world.

He qualified for the 2024 U.S. Open as an amateur, shooting 8-over par to finish in a tie for 41st place. Clanton carded a 74-69-69-76 in his first major championship appearance.

The Florida State star has posted incredible numbers during his sophomore season with the Seminoles. He put up the lowest-single-season scoring average in FSU history this year (2023-2024) with a 69.33. Clanton also became the first FSU golfer to ever win three consecutive tournaments: the Seminole Intercollegiate, the Valspar Collegiate Invitational, and the Lewis Chitengwa Memorial.