Luke Clanton didn’t grow up in a family with generations of golfers. He became interested in the sport and his dad, David, became a quick study, learning what he could about a golfer’s swing.
“Mom and dad didn’t play too much golf growing up,” Clanton said on Wednesday. “My dad actually learned the golf swing off a magazine, which was funny. I was about like 6, 7 years old, and he learned it off of Justin Rose. So it was pretty cool to kind of go through the journey with him. He was my teacher until I was about 16 years old, and we were kind of clueless. But all my dad knew was to go out and compete and just be the best he can.”
Luke Clanton credits much of his success to his early years, growing up in Hialeah, Fla., and seeing his dad work three jobs. Neither his dad nor his mom, Rhonda, were easy on him. But the work ethic was instilled, and Luke had the drive to learn the sport and improve.
“I’ve said this a lot: My dad’s my hero,” Clanton said. “He led me to where I’m at now as a man. And I think it made me realize that you do have to work hard to get what you want. And the way we grew up, the way my sisters and all of us did everything, was just trying to be a dog. Compete as much as you can and do what you need to get done.
“My dad would work from 4 a.m. ’til 2 p.m. and be out there with a flashlight at night with me practicing hitting golf balls. To see what he’s done, be such a great role model for me is amazing. My mom, she hasn’t missed an event in the last five years, which is pretty unbelievable. She’s always there supporting me. She’s always there on the first tee box to do a little prayer with me.”
From humble but hard-working beginnings in golf, Clanton has become the top men’s college golfer. He’s the No. 1 men’s amateur golfer in the world. (FSU’s Lottie Woad is the top women’s amateur.)
Clanton has won two college events this spring, the Watersound Invitational and this week’s Seminole Intercollegiate, while also earning his PGA Tour card by making the cut at the Cognizant Classic in Palm Beach Gardens.
And while he just needed to make the cut in that PGA Tour stop, on a course at PGA National that Clanton estimated he’s played 40 times, he earned a top-25 finish as he shot 67-66-70-69 and finished 12-under for the event.
Over the past two PGA Tour seasons, he’s made the cut in 9 of 12 tournaments, taking three top-5 finishes and placing runner up twice. Clanton has juggled a busy schedule of college and pro tournaments and done so successfully at the college and pro level.
“He just loves golf, and he’s excited to be out there, and there’s no place he’d rather be,” FSU coach Trey Jones told the Osceola. “So he’s in his element on the golf course. … when he’s out there he’s having fun.”
Earlier this week, Clanton and his teammates competed in the Seminole Intercollegiate and won by 12 strokes over Troy at the Glen Arven course in Thomasville, Ga. Clanton had five birdies on the back nine to card a 65 in the final round on Tuesday and take medalist honors after shooting 64-66-65.
FSU had three of the top-10 golfers in the Seminole Intercollegiate: Jack Bigham (68-69-68) tied for fifth, while Carson Brewer (69-70-68) tied for eighth.
“The team was always ready to go out and play,” Clanton said. “It was cool to get out there and know those guys were ready to play. I ended up playing some pretty good golf, which was cool. So to defend the individual title and win it again was awesome. But to see the team do so well and win by 10 or more shots, whatever it was, pretty cool.”
Jones said Clanton has put a lot of pressure on himself to be successful on the course, but that he’s settled in to a comfort zone through the years.
“He’s definitely a team player,” Jones said. “He enjoys it. Team golf wasn’t easy for him. Early on, he put too much pressure on himself because of that he felt like he was going to let the team down. And it took him a while to get comfortable with that. Once he did, and once he won and some other stuff, then it was just a stage in his development.
Clanton could be competing on the PGA Tour as often as he wants in 2025. Earning his card allows him to enter many events. He could give up his college eligibility, giving him the chance to earn six-figure paychecks if he plays well in PGA Tour events (and perhaps more than $1 million if he were to win a tournament).
But Clanton insists he’s focused on competing with his FSU teammates, whom he calls “brothers,” and pursuing a national title. He’s also benefitting from an NIL deal through Battle’s End as well as a Nike contract.
“Not to be rude, but I don’t really care about the NIL,” Clanton said. “I’m here to win a national championship with this team. If it comes along the way that’s great. I think these guys that we all have, it’s just all about winning with all of us. And it’s not about either the money or whatever it could be. It is great to have that opportunity for us to be able to explore with and have money to travel as well, which is great.”
NIL has been helpful to Luke and his family to offset the travel expenses for pro tournaments.
“He’s been very good with the NIL,” Jones said. “It hasn’t been something that he’s assumed and hasn’t been something that he very honestly demanded. He’s earned it. He’s been able to help pay some bills and go out and chase a dream. I’m all for it.”
Jones also said FSU’s golf program has received a significant amount of positive exposure from TV broadcasts and social media posts discussing Clanton.
And the spring will continue to be busy for Clanton and the Seminoles. FSU will play in the Valspar Collegiate Invitational in Palm City, Fla., on March 24 before competing at Virginia and then the ACC Championship in Kentucky in April. FSU will host an NCAA Regional in Tallahassee at the Seminole Legacy Golf Club on May 12-14.
After Clanton earned his PGA Tour card, he was able to focus on his collegiate goals. Clanton feels FSU has five golfers who can compete and make another run at a national title. A year ago, FSU made a run to the championship match before losing to Auburn.
“It’s going to be cool for us to go back and try to do what we need to do,” Clanton said. “We’ve been talking about a national championship now for a couple months, and it’s always hard to not look too far ahead. But we have some good events coming up to build up and build off of as a team.”
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