15 Facts You Didn't Know About Amateur Golfer Luke Clanton

Get to know amateur golfer Luke Clanton a little better with these 15 facts about his life and career in golf so far

Luke Clanton at the Luke Clanton of the Florida State Seminoles tees off during the Division I Men's Golf Championship
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Luke Clanton is an American amateur golfer who rose to stardom as a result of his appearance at the 2024 US Open.

He made it through to Pinehurst No.2 via final qualifying and was in contention for the low amateur title alongside Neal Shipley in his very first US Open.

But if you don't know much about Clanton or would like to find out a little more, keep reading...

1. Clanton's home town in Hialeah in Florida.

2. Clanton grew up playing golf at the 36-hole, public-access Country Club of Miami - located in his home town of Hialeah.

3. His father is called David, his mother is called Rhonda, and Luke has two sisters called Ray and Abby.

4. He went to American Heritage high school in Plantation, 10 miles west of Fort Lauderdale.

5. He was 20 years old when competing at his first US Open - Pinehurst, 2024. Clanton was one of 16 amateurs in the field that year.

6. From age 10 onward, Clanton hosted US Open watch parties at his house. A decade later, he was able to take his buddies to Pinehurst to watch him play.

7. He played a practice round with World No.1 Scottie Scheffler at the 2024 US Open where they reportedly discussed life, golf, and their faiths.

8. As of June 2024, he was the fifth-ranked amateur male golfer in the world.

9. Clanton attended Florida State University. In the 2023-24 season, he was a First Team All-American as a sophomore.

10. He set the Florida State single-season scoring average record (69.33) - bettering efforts by the likes of 1993 PGA Championship victor Paul Azinger, four-time PGA Tour winner Daniel Berger, and five-time Major champion, Brooks Koepka.

11. Clanton grew up playing with US Kids junior clubs until his father, David, bought his son his first full set of clubs during middle school. He now uses TaylorMade P760 irons.

Luke Clanton takes a shot in a practice round before the US Open

(Image credit: Getty Images)

12. He won the North & South Amateur at Pinehurst in 2022, three years after making his US Amateur debut at the same location, age 15.

13. Clanton has six amateur golf titles and 19 top-10 finishes since 2022.

14. His lowest competitive round at college was a seven-under 64 on his way to winning the Lewis Chitengwa Memorial in April 2024.

15. Clanton entered the final round of the US Open averaging 325.8 yards and was the seventh biggest hitter in the field.

Jonny Leighfield
Staff Writer

Jonny Leighfield is our Staff News Writer who joined Golf Monthly just in time for the 2023 Solheim Cup and Ryder Cup. He graduated from the University of Brighton with a degree in Sport Journalism in 2017 and spent almost five years as the sole sports reporter at his local newspaper. An improving golfer who still classes himself as ‘one of the worst players on the Golf Monthly team’, Jonny enjoys playing as much as he can and is hoping to reach his Handicap goal of 18 at some stage. He attended both the 150th and 151st Opens and is keen to make it an annual pilgrimage.