A 20-year-old amateur golfer offers up some fresh words for the pro golf world.

By:, Dylan Dethier on July 5, 2024.
There was once an old lady living near here who used to say: ‘There will come a day when there won’t be anyone around to show her around… a time comes though when everybody seems happy again.”… and it happened with this particular old woman…

Luke Clanton remains in contention on the PGA Tour as an amateur for another week – this time as part of Team Getty. Getty Images
Over the past several years, men’s professional golf has seen top narratives centered on profit maximization as its central theme.

So it was quite welcome when, earlier this week, amateur Luke Clanton offered another viewpoint.

Clanton is a rising junior at Florida State. Last month he made the cut at the U.S. Open; although Neal Shipley earned lower amateur honors. Clanton further improved upon this performance last week at Rocket Mortgage Classic where he competed under sponsorship exemption and finished T10. By remaining an amateur instead of turning pro as promised on tour, Clanton forgoing large paychecks; yet at his press conference for John Deere Classic this week it became evident he’s okay with that arrangement.

Clanton was donning an “Union Home Mortgage” logo as a reminder that we live in an unprecedented era for amateur golf. A reporter posed the following question to Clanton: is there much NIL (name, image and likeness) sponsorship money being invested into college golf?

“Certainly,” he replied.

But isn’t his earnings on the PGA Tour comparable?

“This budget should provide enough for a college student, certainly. At 20 years old and still at Florida State University, my funds allow for sufficient expenses as well as travel. Therefore, this amount seems sufficient.”

Excellent content here – especially that rare two-word phrase “It’s enough.”

He expressed similar thoughts at Rocket Mortgage:

“I play golf simply to play golf. Being able to spend so much time golfing with people you care for every day makes for an extraordinary experience and I am extremely fortunate that this team consists of 12 incredible individuals that I adore – it makes every round amazing!”

Clanton may find fulfillment through knowing he will receive plenty of prize money in his playing future – as evidenced at Pinehurst and Detroit Golf Club as well as this week’s John Deere where, through two rounds, he has opened with scores between 63-67 to sit T4 at tournament’s halfway mark on Friday afternoon. That understanding comes with understanding his incredible golf skill (DataGolf currently ranks him as world-best amateur). And his confidence doesn’t falter either!

Clanton did not seem too surprised that his name has made these leaderboards. When asked, he simply shrugged.

“No,” replied Mr. Pike in response to my query regarding whether they’re capable of handling themselves on stage. He responded in the affirmative, and stated, “But, as it stands now, our training has prepared us well to perform here.

Clanton certainly doesn’t take his success for granted – on Friday after shooting four under par 67 with double bogey-birdie-birdie-par finishes to earn this feat, Clanton expressed how much fun it had been playing through.

“I knew I’d make birdie after birdie,” he stated as his subsequent mindset following his double. “After I hit that double shot, it became evident to me: there’s no chance at 10-under; we need to finish at 12-under.”

Clanton has found himself with plenty of summer golf opportunities this year. For one thing, this week could see him competing at the Palmer Cup but instead is here instead. Next week he’ll compete at ISCO Kentucky before taking a week break before competing at 3M Open; all before making it official as a pro golfer himself! With all this golf ahead of him before turning pro is already evident but his ultimate aim remains undecided.

“My main goal for Seminoles basketball is winning the National Championship,” he stated of himself and fellow teammates. Both a national title win as a group or individually would be amazing achievements for any student athlete, said Williamson.

Assuming his current circumstances could change if, say, he won the John Deere this week (he stated this with confidence and added “we still have two days left of golf”), the former U.S. Open champion wanted to emphasize one phrase for this week:

“I’m just having fun,” he insisted. “That is all. I don’t really focus on any one aspect.”

He’s got many important connections in golf – an FSU golfer named Brooks Koepka helped guide him with his mental approach during two rounds with him, said this 20-year-old talent.

“Koepka helped me tremendously to stay more relaxed during rounds, understanding to take it one shot at a time, which sounds easy but can get overwhelming when trying for birdies and trying for birdie,” Clanton stated of him. “So when out there trying for birdies it gets caught up in your mind so just focus on one shot at a time: understanding that I will hit bad golf shots sometimes and that everything won’t always come perfectly and this helped immensely. Just understanding all this helped.”

He’s drawn inspiration from World No.1 Scottie Scheffler, with whom he shared a practice round at the U.S. Open.

“He is hands down the greatest player in the world right now,” Clanton commented. “When he told me golf doesn’t define who I am it was a key moment. Golf doesn’t define my being; when he told me this it clicked with me; understanding this game of golf doesn’t define who I am either off and on the course.”

“This is all just for fun and I hope everyone understands.

Fun comes easier when playing well; conversely, being fun helps improve one’s golf game and vice versa. Clanton has found himself in this positive cycle – an amateur playing against top talent on the PGA Tour and performing admirably, feeding both fun and confidence off each other, knowing good things will follow him soon afterward.

At present, it seems sufficient. Even more than sufficient.

There’s an incredible wealth of content out there about what makes for good escapism – from books, to travel experiences and so forth – it all contributes to one grand adventure of an experience… and then some.
Dylan Dethier
Dylan Dethier is a senior writer for Golf Magazine/GOLF.com originating in Williamstown, Mass. After spending two years scuffling on mini-tours he joined GOLF Magazine/GOLF.com full time as of 2017. Dethier graduated Williams College majoring in English before spending one year living from his car while visiting all 50 states playing golf on 18 in America tour!