There’s a reason Luke Clanton is the best amateur (and one of the best players) in the world.
The junior at Florida State was stellar Tuesday during a 36-hole day at the Watersound Invitational, shooting 11 under with three eagles to come from behind and win his first college start of the fall. It’s the fifth win of his college career, coming by three shots over Alabama’s Jonathan Griz and Jones Free.
After opening in 1-over 73 at Shark’s Tooth Golf Course in Panama City Beach, Florida, Clanton shot 6-under 66 and 5-under 67 on Tuesday. The final round was moved to Tuesday afternoon due to anticipated weather on Wednesday, and Clanton made the most of his 36-hole day with 8 birdies and three eagles.
He finished at 10 under for the week, his first college start of the spring after three appearances on the PGA Tour, making one cut at the Farmers Insurance Open.
Next week, Clanton will tee it up at the PGA Tour’s Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches. The hometown kid needs one point in PGA Tour University Accelerated to reach 20 points, which would earn him a PGA Tour card, and he can accept membership after the NCAA Championship in May.
Regardless of his result at the Cognizant Classic, Clanton, who’s ranked 93rd in the Official World Golf Ranking as an amateur, is virtually guaranteed to win the Ben Hogan Award, which would give him three points and secure the card.
As a team, Florida State dominated in the final round, shooting 15-under 273 to come from behind and beat Alabama by nine shots. Michael Mays and Tyler Weaver tied for sixth at 5 under, and Weaver matched Clanton with a 5-under 67 in the final round. UCLA (13 under) and Georgia Tech (12 under) finished third and fourth, respectively.
After shooting the second-worst round of his college career Monday, Gordon Sargent, a senior at Vanderbilt who earned his PGA Tour card via Accelerated in Oct. 2023, bounced back with consecutive rounds of 1-under 71 on Tuesday.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Luke Clanton gets win in first college start of spring semester
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