This weekend’s WM Phoenix Open could prove significant in the career of Florida State amateur star Luke Clanton.
The 21-year-old knows making the cut at TPC Scottsdale will see him accumulate 20 PGA Tour U points and earn a full Tour card as a result. Up to now, Clanton has earned $1.8m on the PGA Tour but has been unable to bank any of it due to his amateur status.
Clanton’s best performances in 2024 came at the John Deere Classic and RSM Classic, where he finished second twice.
The American’s first outing last year was at the US Open, where he finished eight over and tied for 41st. Before the event at Pinehurst no.2, Clanton played a practice round with Scottie Scheffler, and the 21-year-old has now shed light on what the world number one was like in North Carolina.
Luke Clanton’s round with Scottie Scheffler at Pinehurst
“Yeah, I mean, he’s such a humble dude. We were walking down 16, and I asked him, I said, how do you deal with adversity, the temptations because he’s close with his faith and so am I,” Clanton said during his pre-tournament press conference on Wednesday.
“He kind of looked at me, and he goes, get about three to five minutes of enjoyable time after a win, and then you go right back into the zone. Golf, you’re always chasing more and more and more, to realise golf is not everything in your life and you’ve got a lot more to it.
“It’s been an incredible journey in my faith over the last eight months because of that one answer for me. But he’s an idol to me, and I always looked up to him, and to see what he’s doing and how he’s kind of talking about his faith all the time has been incredible.”
What Luke Clanton noticed about Scottie Scheffler at Pinehurst
Unsurprisingly, Clanton also revealed that Scheffler was at his metronomic best during their nine-hole match at the iconic US Open venue.
“The nine holes I played with him, I don’t think he missed a golf shot. Kind of made me realize that maybe this guy is pretty good at golf, no doubt,” Clanton added.
“But yeah, he just kind of plots it around the golf course all day. I think we all see it enough that he doesn’t really make a mistake. That’s pretty hard to do in golf. You make a lot. Yeah, just kind of tried to follow in his footsteps as much as I can. It’s hard to because he’s really good, so I’m just kind of learning as I go.”
Luke Clanton’s 2025 PGA Tour record
Clanton started his 2025 PGA Tour season at the Sony Open in Hawaii. However, the 21-year-old missed the cut after finishing one under.
Two weeks later, Clanton played the Farmers Insurance Open and ended the Torrey Pines tournament in a tie for 15th. Given the testing conditions in San Diego, it was an impressive performance.
| Luke Clanton PGA Tour 2024 | Rank | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total |
| U.S. Open | T41 | 76 | 69 | 69 | 74 | +8 |
| Rocket Mortgage Classic | T10 | 69 | 68 | 65 | 72 | -14 |
| John Deere Classic | T2 | 63 | 67 | 67 | 63 | -24 |
| ISCO Championship | T37 | 70 | 65 | 69 | 71 | -13 |
| 3M Open | CUT | 71 | 72 | – | – | +1 |
| Wyndham Championship | 5 | 68 | 67 | 62 | 69 | -14 |
| Procore Championship | T50 | 70 | 68 | 72 | 75 | -3 |
| The RSM Classic | T2 | 68 | 65 | 68 | 66 | -15 |
Statistically, Clanton’s driving has proven a strength over his first two events. The American is currently 16th on the PGA Tour for strokes gained off the tee and 14th for driving distance.
Clanton’s flat stick has also bailed him out at times. He is 36th for strokes gained putting on Tour this season. One area for Clanton to improve is his approach to the greens. Currently, the Florida State star is 105th on the PGA Tour and losing nearly a stroke each round.
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