There is a new No. 1 in the world of amateur golf.
Florida State junior Luke Clanton, who has dazzled on the PGA Tour this summer with three top-10s, including a T-5 last week at the Wyndham Championship, moved up two spots to the top of the World Amateur Golf Ranking on Wednesday morning, a day after wrapping up stroke-play qualifying for the U.S. Amateur in a tie for 19th. Clanton comfortable advanced to match play, which begins Wednesday at Hazeltine National.
“I didn’t even know that, so that’s pretty cool,” Clanton said Tuesday after being informed that he’d jump both Gordon Sargent and Jackson Koivun, both of whom he played alongside the last two days. “There’s so many good amateurs out there, and to have that No. 1 spot now is pretty cool, but again you just have to play good golf. I’m going to keep doing what I do and it’s not going to change too much with my mindset or anything. I’ve been working for that, but it’s not the biggest goal.”
Winning the Havemeyer Trophy on Sunday would likely top it – and it would move Clanton to 17 points in PGA Tour University Accelerated, a program that awards PGA Tour cards to underclassmen who reach 20 points by achieving various elite benchmarks (Clanton gained two points by moving to No. 1 in WAGR, and that was after he added points for making the cut and finishing top-10 at Wyndham).
Clanton played 39 holes on Sunday in Greensboro, North Carolina, before hopping on a private flight that night to Chaska, Minnesota. In the last three days alone, he’s 75 holes, but Clanton has shrugged off the fatigue narrative.
“A lot of golf, but it’s good,” said Clanton, who is planning on a heavy dose of ice baths and stretching this week. Before his Round-of-64 match against Dylan McDermott, Clanton was wearing a wrap around his midsection to keep his lower back muscles warm.
In Tuesday’s second round, Clanton made a couple of tired swings but otherwise looked sharp. He started the day by canning a 40-footer for birdie at Hazeltine’s par-4 10th hole and later on that first nine, on the par-5 15th, he hit a mini-driver to about 12 feet and made that putt for eagle. At 3 under, he clipped Sargent, who also made match play, by two shots and Koivun, who failed to advance, by five.
Sargent is the only player who can retake No. 1 in WAGR this week and earn the McCormack Medal, which is handed out after the U.S. Amateur and comes with starts in both Opens next year. Clanton can lock it up, however, by reaching the semifinals. And if Clanton wins at least one match, Sargent would need to advance to at least the semis himself.
Entering the knockout stage, there’s no question that Clanton is the man the beat.
He now has the ranking to back that up, too.
Just don’t expect it to get to his head.
“I’m just going to stay in my zone,” Clanton said. “I’m going to be honest with you, I’m pretty simple when it comes to this. I’m not too heavy into this stuff. Golf’s not my life. I think a lot of people get obsessed with it, and I try to make sure that I don’t get obsessed with it as much, and realize that I have a beautiful girlfriend, a great family. You get too obsessed with golf sometimes, it becomes a little hard.”