Luke Clanton says what he thought of Rory McIlroy’s on-course behaviour during his first PGA Tour start as a pro

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Luke Clanton played alongside Rory McIlroy in his first start on the PGA Tour at the Canadian Open two weeks ago.

Playing alongside McIlroy must have been a truly amazing experience for Clanton, but what did the 21-year-old actually make of the Masters champion’s on-course behaviour?

Clanton had actually played 13 PGA Tour events as an amateur before he turned professional and teed it up at the Canadian Open.

He ended up missing the cut at Osprey Valley, but he bounced back with a tie for 34th at the Travelers Championship last week.

Clanton was nervous on the first tee alongside McIlroy at the Canadian Open, and it’s little wonder as to why.

The young star – who attended Florida State University – has all the talent in the world, but he’s obviously a long way off McIlroy’s level just yet.

Luke Clanton gives verdict on Rory McIlroy’s behaviour on the golf course

Clanton has praised McIlroy’s ability to win golf tournaments so regularly in the past.

McIlroy has won 29 PGA Tour tournaments throughout his career to date, and Clanton would do well to enjoy even half the success that the 35-year-old has achieved in the game.

It seems like he’s a huge fan of the Northern Irishman as a person as well.

Clanton was speaking to Claire Rogers on the ‘The Scoop’, and shared what he thought of McIlroy when playing with him in Canada.

He said: “Two weeks ago I played with Rory McIlroy, it was nuts. I think we teed off on 10 pretty early in the morning. The range session, the putting, chipping was fine, I wasn’t nervous. We walked to the tee 10 minutes before. So we get up there, I was fine, I said hi to him, I was so excited. I get up to the tee and put my ball in the ground and my hand starts going like this and I was like I need to chill out a second. I took it back, I couldn’t feel the club and I was like, ‘just please make contact’. And it went right down the middle and I was like, ‘thank God’. Rory was amazing with me and super nice with everything.“

McIlroy comes across incredibly well there.

It is fair to say that perhaps the five-time major champion receives more criticism than he actually deserves at times.

Does Luke Clanton have what it takes to become world number one?

Clanton is the full package, make no mistake about that.

The 21-year-old is exceptionally long off the tee, often reaching ball speeds just below 190 mph.

His iron play is pinpoint accurate and his short game is top tier when he’s on form.

Clanton is a streaky putter – when he’s hot with the flat-stick, he’s very hot.

However, he does have more off-days than he would like on the greens.

Clanton will undoubtedly go on to be a regular winner on the PGa Tour, but whether he can emulate McIlroy by winning majors and reaching number one in the world remains to be seen.