Newbie golf’s hottest player, Luke Clanton, isn’t slowing down just yet

CHASKA, Minn. – As usual, the man with the cigarette was not impressed.

Luke Clanton, who was already in awe of the opening round of the US Amateur, had just reached 5 feet on the 5 11th hole at Hazeltine National Golf Club, following two flying shots that pierced the sudden Minnesota wind. .

“Clanton hits the mark,” said the man dryly. “Wonderful.”

Now, Clanton didn’t do putt on 11 – it paid off on the low side – but it did little to dampen the momentum of the match or charge as the pre-tournament favorite for the 2024 US Amateur. He birdied 4 through 11 holes and ended up beating Dylan McDermott 4 and 3 to advance to Thursday’s round of 32.

Sometimes it’s difficult to live up to high expectations, but so far there has been no problem for the world’s top-ranked student, who took up the position when the rankings were adjusted on Wednesday. Clanton showed up here later than everyone else, opting to play in the weather-delayed Wyndham Championship weekend on the PGA Tour instead. It was a good decision, as he closed 62-69 and finished 5th before hopping on a private plane to the Twin Cities and arriving Sunday night.

“To be honest, I don’t really remember being tired,” Clanton said. “I just go day by day and week by week. You don’t really get tired because your adrenaline is going. This morning I woke up thinking I was going to pass out, but I woke up ready to go. It’s the US Am, man – you want to win. It’s nice to be out here.”

His top 10 at Wyndham was nothing short of a 20-year-old junior at Florida State. Last month, he became the first top-10 player on the PGA Tour to make back-to-back rounds — the first freshman to do so since 1958 — and became the first unseeded player in US Open history to record consecutive rounds in the 60s.

Clanton managed to sneak in a practice round at Hazeltine when he missed the 3M Open last month, but the stroke-play host, the Chaska Town Course, was unknown. Late on Monday, Clanton shot a 69 in the first round and a two-under 70 on Tuesday at Hazeltine.

“The first few days were a little rough,” Clanton said. “I thought I was hitting OK, and today was a lot better.”

The round of 32 and 16 continues on Thursday. Clanton won the match last year but lost in the first round. As for Wednesday night, before that he hopes for 36 holes of golf and more on Friday? Planning to play EA Sports’ College football 25 and his friends.

“I spend a lot of time on that game,” he said.

Josh Behow

Golf.com Editor

As managing editor of GOLF.com, Berhow manages the day-to-day and long-term programming of one of the most widely read news and service websites in the sport. He spends most of his days writing, planning, organizing and wondering if he will ever break 80. Before joining GOLF.com in 2015, he worked at newspapers in Minnesota and Iowa. A graduate of Minnesota State University in Mankato, Minn., he lives in the Twin Cities with his wife and two children. You can reach him at joshua_berhow@golf.com.