After stellar summer in PGA events, Luke Clanton returns to FSU with championship goals

Florida State’s Luke Clanton has enjoyed one of the best summers an amateur golfer could have. Not only did he earn the ranking of the No. 1 amateur golfer in the world, but he also got to compete in multiple PGA Tour events.

And “competing” doesn’t do it justice.

The Florida State junior played in six PGA Tour events, finished in the top 10 of three of them and in the top five twice.

“That was actually the first summer I’ve ever played a professional event — it was incredible,” Clanton told Warchant and other FSU media outlets this week. “I think I learned a lot this year. I think there’s a lot of learning no matter what you do, but to be able to play with those guys, to be able to play with Scottie [Scheffler] and the big names that we see all the time on TV, was incredible, and I think it was a lot of learning for me.”

The Hialeah product admitted he surprised himself with some of his impressive performances, including finishing runner-up at the John Deere Classic in July.

“Yeah, I was a little shocked, no doubt,” Clanton said. “I was like, ‘Wow, that’s pretty cool.’ I was like that’s a little different from normal … but again, I walked up 18, and I saw my mom and dad there again. No matter what I do, no matter how I finish, they’re always there for me. It’s just incredible.”

As great as it was to play well against Tour professionals, Clanton said the best part of the experience was getting to be around them and to learn from them.

“I was that little kid asking questions basically all the time,” the Florida State standout said. “I think there’s just so much knowledge out there that we don’t really know as amateur golfers. To kind of absorb that, then come to college and kind of have that as well with practice and how you kind of lead into tournaments … it’s pretty incredible.”

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Clanton was especially thankful for how helpful the professional players were.

“It was actually really welcoming — all the guys were super sweet. It was just cool,” he said. “We played practice rounds with Gary Woodland and those guys; they’re all kind of just busting a few jokes with me and that kind of stuff. But it was hilarious, it was fun.”

Now back on campus at Florida State, the focus for Clanton has shifted to winning a national championship with the Seminoles.

He said he actually never had a second thought about coming back to Florida State for the upcoming season, despite all of his success.

“No, I’ve been wanting to win a national championship,” Clanton said. “That’s my No. 1 goal with this team, and I think all these guys are incredible. I think we’re kind of underlooked a little bit sometimes, and I think this year is going to be an amazing year.”

Last season, the Seminoles made it all the way to the NCAA championship match before falling to Auburn. Clanton also came up just short of the individual championship, finishing runner-up to Georgia Tech’s Hiroshi Tai.

In 2023, Florida State made it to the NCAA semifinals before coming up short against the eventual champions Florida Gators.

Now, Clanton said, the ‘Noles want to finish the job and bring home Florida State’s first national title.

“It’s been on our mind every single day,” he said. “It’s one of those things. Coming down to the final match and losing is no joke — I think everyone saw the emotion we had as a team there. When you train all year to get to that moment and don’t pull it off is hard. … It’s brutal, and it’s been on my mind every single day. Every single time we step in that gym or train during the day, whatever it is, we think about it. So I think we’re going to have a lot of fight this year and see what happens.”

The Seminoles will open their campaign at American Dunes Golf Club in Grand Haven, Mich., at the Folds of Honor Collegiate on Monday.

Talk about this story with other die-hard FSU football fans on the Tribal Council.