World No. 1 amateur Luke Clanton was among 16 players who were selected to participate in the upcoming U.S. Walker Cup practice session.
This year’s session will take place Dec. 14-16 in Jupiter, Florida, as the prospective team members will play rounds at McArthur Golf Club, The Bear’s Club and vaunted Seminole Golf Club while also getting to know each other and U.S. captain Nathan Smith better.
Clanton, who this past summer posted three top-10s on the PGA Tour following a sophomore season at Florida State in which he won three tournaments in the spring, is joined by Auburn sophomore Jackson Koivun, who swept the national player of the year awards last season (Haskins, Nicklaus and Hogan) and high-schooler Blades Brown, who is the only junior player attending the session.
Two mid-amateurs, Evan Beck and four-time Walker Cupper Stewart Hagestad, were invited. Hagestad and Virginia junior Ben James are the only participants with past Walker Cup experience.
Auburn’s Brendan Valdes and Vanderbilt’s Jackson Van Paris are the only seniors attending, meaning each player likely would consider delaying their professional careers should they be picked for the team. Conversely, Vanderbilt senior Gordon Sargent, who has a PGA Tour card waiting for him next summer, is not participating, likely indicating he has no plans to not turn pro immediately after the NCAA Championship next May; same likely goes for top-11 amateurs North Carolina senior David Ford, Arizona State senior Preston Summerhays, Florida senior Ian Gilligan and Illinois senior Jackson Buchanan.
“The amateur golf talent in this country is impressive, and I’m thrilled to gather with this group for a practice session next month,” said Smith, who was also tabbed as the 2026 captain for Lahinch as the Walker Cup transitions to even-numbered years. “We have a strong list of young men attending; a mixture of seasoned veterans as well as up-and-comers of the game. I’m excited to spend more time with this group.”
Being selected to the session doesn’t guarantee a player will be picked for the 10-man American squad that will compete at Cypress Point next September, nor does not being invited prohibit a player from receiving a pick next year.
Here is the full list of players attending the practice session:
- Evan Beck, 34, of Virginia Beach, Va. (Wake Forest, class of 2013)
- Parker Bell, 20, of Tallahassee, Fla. (Florida, junior)
- Blades Brown, 17, of Nashville, Tenn. (high school class of 2026)
- Luke Clanton, 20, of Hialeah, Fla. (Florida State, junior)
- Ethan Fang, 19, of Plano, Texas (Oklahoma State, sophomore)
- Stewart Hagestad, 33, of Newport Beach, Calif. (USC, class of 2013)
- Max Herendeen, 19, of Bellevue, Wash. (Illinois, sophomore)
- Ben James, 21, of Milford, Conn. (Virginia, junior)
- Noah Kent, 20, of Naples, Fla. (Iowa, sophomore)
- Jackson Koivun, 19, of Chapel Hill, N.C. (Auburn, sophomore)
- Michael La Sasso, 20, of Raleigh, N.C. (Ole Miss, junior)
- Bryan Lee, 20, of Fairfax, Va. (Virginia, junior)
- Tommy Morrison, 20, of Dallas, Texas (Texas, junior)
- Jase Summy, 20, of Keller, Texas (Oklahoma, junior)
- Brendan Valdes, 21, of Orlando, Fla. (Auburn, senior)
- Jackson Van Paris, 21, of Pinehurst, N.C. (Vanderbilt, senior)
