Luke Clanton spent the better part of two days crafting his introductory remarks for his Tuesday pre-tournament press conference ahead of his professional debut at the PGA Tour’s RBC Canadian Open. Not leaving anything to chance, he scribbled it down on paper.
“Today my dream becomes a reality, a professional golfer on the PGA Tour,” he began before proceeding to acknowledge that he had stood on many shoulders and accepted many helping hands from coaches, mentors, his college teammates at Florida State University and the various junior circuits where he cut his teeth. The 21-year-old newly minted pro then spoke glowingly of his family and the sacrifices they made.
Clanton grew up in Hialeah, Florida, outside of Miami. He’s the youngest son of Rhonda, a Delta flight attendant for four decades who home-schooled him until ninth grade, and David, a landscaper who started his workday before sunrise so he could meet Luke at Country Club of Miami, a hardscrabble municipal course that served as his proving ground.
“What my dad did at an early, young age created me to be the person I am now,” Clanton said. “My dad took that step of pushing me to my limits when I was a kid and making me train as hard as I can and hit golf balls in the dark with a flashlight. Those kinds of things are created to make a person mentally hard, mentally ready for these kind of big moments.”
Clanton has already proven he can compete in the big leagues. He notched four Tour top-10 finishes in 2024, highlighted by runner-up finishes at the John Deere Classic and RSM Classic, becoming the first amateur since Jack Nicklaus in 1961 with three or more top-10 finishes on Tour in a year. Had amateurs been allowed to earn non-member FedEx Cup points, Clanton would’ve finished No. 90 in points last season.
Clanton, who just completed his junior season at Florida State, secured his 20th point and PGA Tour membership following a made cut at the Cognizant Classic in March. Clanton capped off his time as a Seminole as the top-ranked player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking with seven individual collegiate titles, including four this season, and was named the recipient of the 2025 Ben Hogan Award, one of three player of the year awards in college golf.
“There are certain people that their golf ball makes a different sound when they hit than others, and his is definitely one of them,” said Justin Thomas after playing two rounds with Clanton at the WM Phoenix Open in February. “He wasn’t shy and wasn’t scared of the moment. So I know he’s going to come out here ready to go.”
Clanton has already been well compensated for his bright future from the likes of Nike, which allowed his mother to officially retire this week.
“I told her, ‘You’re not going to have to work a day in your life.’ She’s like, ‘No, I’ll just work for you,’ ” Clanton recalled. “It’s something that every kid chases for is to retire their mom and dad and help them out with everything. It’s amazing.”
Clanton likely could have banked even more money in the short term had he signed with LIV Golf. Asked in his press conference about his decision to join the PGA Tour, he didn’t address any details about an offer from LIV, saying, “I want to play the PGA Tour, pretty simple. I want to play against the best, I want to compete in majors, and that’s it. Simple.” An earlier answer may have been more telling: “It’s not about the money. It’s not about any of the fame. It’s about competing with these guys on Tour. It’s something I’ve chased for my whole entire life.”
Clanton isn’t the only recent college grad making his first start as a Tour member this week at the RBC Canadian Open, held for the first time at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley’s North Course in Caledon, Ontario. Vanderbilt’s Gordon Sargent also earned membership through PGA Tour University Accelerated, while North Carolina’s David Ford finished as the No. 1 player in the 2025 PGA Tour University Ranking. All three players will have status on Tour through the 2026 season. For Clanton, playing as a professional, a childhood dream come true, still felt surreal as he packed his passport for his first trip north of the border.
“I got on the flight, and I was like, dang, this is my first PGA Tour start ever,” he said. “It still hasn’t really hit me.”
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