Latest news with #LukeClanton
USA Today
12 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Part of Luke Clanton's prep? Deep Dark Meditation — and it seems to be working
Part of Luke Clanton's prep? Deep Dark Meditation — and it seems to be working When Luke Clanton opened his professional debut Thursday at the RBC Canadian Open in Caledon, Ontario, with bogeys on two of the first three holes, it wasn't exactly how he drew it up. That's because Clanton, 21, practices Deep Dark Meditation for 40 minutes before every round. Asked if he meditated in the shower before his round with Masters champion and world No. 2 Rory McIlroy and Swedish rising star Ludvig Aberg, ranked No. 8, Clanton responded, 'Yeah, I did, yeah. I can't believe that's getting out, but yeah, I did.' Clanton rallied from his slow start on Thursday to make an eagle at 18, his ninth hole of the day, and shoot even-par 70 at TPC Toronto's Osprey Valley (North Course). Clanton, who just completed his junior season at Florida State, secured his 20th point and PGA Tour membership through PGA Tour University Accelerated Program following a made cut at the Cognizant Classic in March. He also earned exempt status through 2026. Clanton notched four PGA Tour top-10 finishes in 2024, including two runner-up finishes, becoming the first amateur since Jack Nicklaus in 1961 with three or more top-10 finishes on Tour in a year. He capped off his time as a Seminole as the top-ranked player in the World Amateur Golf Rankings with seven individual collegiate titles, including four this season, and was named the recipient of the 2025 Ben Hogan Award, one of three player of the year awards in college golf. How did Clanton become a regular practitioner of Deep Dark Meditation? 'I've kind of struggled with kind of settling into the moment a lot. I guess about seven months ago I was like, you know what, I'm just going to turn off all the lights and kind of get into the zone. It's been working, so I think I'm going to keep doing it.' 'I try to keep my eyes open as much as I can, so my eyes start to hallucinate,' he told The Athletic. 'It's definitely a little bit crazy, but for me, it gets me in such a headspace where I'm blocking everything I need to block out.' Clanton may not have visualized a slow start on Thursday but he brought the right attitude to his debut. Asked how his first day of work on the job went, he said, "I don't know if you really call this work. I mean, we play golf for a living, and it's amazing."
New York Times
a day ago
- Business
- New York Times
Dreaming in darkness: Luke Clanton's journey to becoming the PGA Tour's next big star
Luke Clanton woke up and his left pointer finger was double its size. Not exactly what you want to see before your tee time in the middle of a historic run as an amateur on the PGA Tour. Ointment. Painkillers. Anti-inflammatory steroids. Give me all of it, Clanton told the medics prior to his round at TPC Deere Run last July. Clanton was going to make this round happen. Even if it meant devising a new grip. Even if he had to change his pre-shot routine. Even though the medication made him so lightheaded that he nearly passed out on the first fairway. Advertisement No one needed to know about this because Clanton doesn't make excuses, even when dealing with a swollen cyst on the hand — the only point of contact between the golfer and his tools. But Clanton never needed an excuse. He shot 63 that day at the 2024 John Deere Classic. A round he eventually parlayed into a second-place finish. A result that is just one bullet point on one of the greatest amateur resumes the PGA Tour has ever seen. Since Jack Nicklaus in 1961, no other amateur has finished in the top 10 three or more times in a single tour season. Clanton went from being a promising Florida State freshman to a sophomore who won three consecutive college tournaments to a betting favorite at a full-field PGA Tour event as a junior. Tied for 10th at Rocket Mortgage, solo fifth at the Wyndham Championship, and another runner-up at the RSM Classic. By January 2025, Clanton was ranked No. 87 on the Official World Golf Ranking. You'd have to scroll down that list for quite a while to find the next name with an amateur designation next to it. In March, at the Cognizant Classic in Palm Beach, Fla., a tournament Clanton grew up attending, he made one more weekend on tour, totalling 10 of 13 made cuts on tour as an amateur. Finally, Clanton earned his PGA Tour card via the PGA Tour University's Accelerated program, which awards membership to players who earn enough points based on their accomplishments in college, amateur and professional golf by the end of their third year of NCAA eligibility. He had earned his membership in unprecedented fashion by beating the pros, week after week — and it could be put to use as soon as he finished his junior season at FSU, per the program's guidelines. 'My life has totally changed in five months. My personal life. My golf life. Everything,' Clanton said, in one of several interviews with The Athletic over the last few months as he sought to end his collegiate career the right way and also begin his professional career. 'It's been a lot to really understand what's happening, because half the time I don't even understand, and I'm the one trying to do it.' Advertisement All of this might be confusing to the now 21-year-old, but it isn't to anybody else. Clanton is the future. And that future starts on the first tee at this week's RBC Canadian Open, where he will play for the first time as a professional golfer, with an exemption on the PGA Tour through 2026. Clanton's next phase is here. It was only a matter of time. A 10-year-old Luke and his father stood engulfed in darkness, a construction-grade flashlight doing its best to illuminate the hole in front of them at the Country Club of Miami, which isn't a country club at all. It's a municipal facility with two 18-hole courses. But more importantly, the property also includes a neglected chipping course with 40-60 yard holes and artificial greens. As far as public golf facilities go in their neighborhood, the Clantons did not discriminate. The artificial putting surface was a short wedge-distance away but it was surrounded by scraggly rough. Luke and David could barely see anything, so they relied on the audio. Luke had to hear his ball hit the fake green — the coveted 'click' — for 10 consecutive shots. If not, he might be there for a while. The lights at the course shut off at 9 p.m., but Luke didn't need them anyway. He had impeccable distance control for a junior who still used the color-coded U.S. Kids clubs you can buy off the shelf. Click, click, click, click, click, click. Thud — a missed green. Start from the top, his dad would say. 'My husband always thought that he was going to be something,' says Luke's mother, Rhonda. 'David gave him his swing.' The owner of a small landscaping company and a self-taught golf instructor on the side, David Clanton knew he and his wife had a line to walk raising a golfer. While Luke's peers walked around national junior events with custom-fit clubs, launch monitors and a nutrition plan, David and Rhonda had to make sure that Luke knew how to work with what he had. Advertisement While David worked on his landscaping business, Rhonda had 12-hour shifts as a Delta flight attendant based out of Fort Lauderdale. Luke's older sisters, Ray and Abby, had to sacrifice their own after-school activities for Luke to be able to pursue junior golf. The sport, between equipment, tee times, tournament entry fees and travel, isn't exactly affordable. It didn't take long for Clanton's name to be known in the junior golf community. He cruised through the Florida junior circuits, making him eligible for national and global competition. He won the 2015 U.S. Kids World Championship at age 11, and throughout his teens he lived at the top of the leaderboard in elite amateur events. At a certain point, all of the magazine articles and coaching tutorials that David obsessively consumed could no longer help a kid who recorded a 64.8 scoring average his junior year of high school. So Luke went coachless for a while, potentially stalling his development. Then COVID-19 hit. Rhonda had a tradition for her kids' 16th birthdays: They'd pick a destination of their choice and use Rhonda's airline credits to travel. When the world shut down, Rhonda had already been saving for Luke's birthday trip. The stimulus checks started to hit, and she had an idea. 'I said to him, 'Hey, we've got money to hire a coach,'' Rhonda says. ''You want to find one?'' Enter Jeff Leishman: The coach she stumbled upon when she googled top-100 golf instructors in Florida. Time to level up. During their first session together, Luke did not hit a single golf ball in front of Leishman. They just talked shop. 'Luke did all the talking,' Leishman says, 'It was a sign of independence.' By the next summer, a 17-year-old Clanton was committed to Florida State and was invited to a prestigious junior invitational at Streamsong, a top-rated resort. Two rounds in and 40th place wasn't cutting it. By Luke's standards, he was playing terribly enough to not only want to pull out of the tournament and drive home, but to quit the game of golf. 'That's not how we work,' Rhonda told her son. 'You finish the tournament, and then we can talk about quitting. You haven't earned the right to quit.' Advertisement So that's what Luke did. He finished the tournament. He shot a 10-under par 62 to break the course record at Streamsong Blue in the final round. And after rocketing up the leaderboard from 40th to fourth place, he took the passenger seat next to his mom, who gave him that look, the implicit I-told-you-so one that any child knows well. 'I was like, damn, mom. That makes a lot more sense now,' Luke says. 'I get it.' Whether he knew it or not, Clanton was bred to be relentless. That same kid who hit dozens of wedge shots to plastic greens now practices Deep Dark Meditation for 40 minutes before every competitive round, something he implemented after discovering it on TikTok. In a dark bathroom, under the shower, Clanton puts on his headphones, listens to meditation music, and opens his eyes so he can visualize his intentions for the day. 'I try to keep my eyes open as much as I can, so my eyes start to hallucinate,' he says. 'It's definitely a little bit crazy, but for me, it gets me in such a headspace where I'm blocking everything I need to block out.' Clanton is known to go off the grid after tough losses, and his inner circle speaks of his ability to transform setbacks into fuel. Clanton finds something to motivate him, and he uses it. Attempting to make the cut at the 2025 WM Phoenix Open to secure his PGA Tour membership, Clanton needed five birdies in his final nine holes to do it. He made four and lipped out on No. 18 for the fifth. 'It was rough. It was not easy to accept that, especially with the media putting it out a ton,' Clanton says. 'You go on your phone once and it's all about the missed cut. It lit a fire under me.' Clanton's mental fortitude holds up statistically: One of Clanton's strongest stats thus far on the PGA Tour has been his bounceback percentage, which refers to the percentage of time a golfer makes a bogey or worse, but follows it up with a birdie or better. At the Wyndham, he ranked fourth, and at the RSM Classic, he ranked ninth. Advertisement The mental intensity mirrors his physical power. Clanton is pound-for-pound one of the longest hitters on tour. At 155 pounds, Clanton averaged 312 yards off the tee in 2025 on the PGA Tour. That skill puts him at No. 13 in driving distance and No. 7 in strokes gained off the tee this year. In between tour starts, Clanton played in seven college tournaments this spring for FSU. He won four of them. 'One of his greatest strengths is the switch that he has inside of him,' says Clanton's caddie Jason Wiertel, who just left his full-time teaching job at Lisle Junior High School. 'You don't even realize how many levels he can take that switch. Guys can turn it on and off, but he can turn it on, off and up.' Clanton has been honing that ability since David put a club in his hand. The switch is real. It works. Now Clanton is taking it to the big leagues. With one hand holding a beer that's spilling all over the place and the other clutching a pimento cheese sandwich, Clanton walks between the seventh and 17th fairways at Augusta National. He's multitasking, attempting to savor his last bite. But his agent, Ben Walters, is fast. Walters snatches the sandwich remains out of his hand and pops it into his mouth, prompting a genuine moment of dejection for Clanton. He's at the Tuesday practice round of the 2025 Masters not as a player, but as a patron. That fact is made abundantly clear by the casual hoodie he's wearing and the hat on his head, custom-embroidered at a Nike event the night before. On its side, the hat features a phrase, in red stitched letters: 'I'll be back.' When Walters told Clanton he wanted to take him to the Masters, Clanton's initial reaction was simple: 'Absolutely not.' It took some convincing for Clanton to willingly step foot on the property, knowing he would not be walking inside the ropes. There was a legitimate discussion about whether the Masters would extend a special invitation to Clanton for the 2025 tournament, like they did for Joaquin Niemann and Nicolai Hojgaard. It never came. Advertisement 'I'm really excited to be here, but this is pretty bittersweet,' Clanton says. 'I want to play.' Clanton settled for schmoozing with sponsors at hospitality suites and a pair of practice round tickets. But walking up to the 16th green, he had a moment: 'Aren't we standing like, right where Tiger chipped in?' Clanton craned his neck to see the players skipping their shots across the world-renowned pond: 'I think this is one of the coolest traditions.' Every 15 minutes or so, a fan approaches, hesitantly. 'Hey, are you Luke Clanton?' He nods, smiles, shakes some hands, says some hellos. Some people recognize Clanton from his run on the PGA Tour, others from YouTube. Before Clanton excelled on tour, he participated in several videos with GoodGood, a popular channel with 1.8 million subscribers. He's mulled starting his own channel. The handshakes, the smiles — this has taken some time to get used to. But Clanton is getting there. 'It's only weird when it's 6:00 in the morning and I'm half asleep, just trying to get a Celsius at the gas station,' he says. A representative from the U.S. Walker Cup team coincidentally winds up in the same spot behind the 16th green. It's strange — one of the best amateurs to compete on the PGA Tour has never played in some of the amateur game's greatest team events. It's because his rise to world No. 1 was fast. Two years ago, Clanton was snubbed from the 2023 Walker Cup team. Now he'll be a pro by the time the next one happens this fall. 'So…why not make the Ryder Cup team?' Clanton and Walters look at each other with raised eyebrows. They're not kidding. Two years ago, Ludvig Åberg, Clanton's friend, went from the first PGA Tour U graduate to the European Ryder Cup team in one summer, establishing a precedent. There's been some communication between Clanton's team and U.S. Ryder Cup officials. Advertisement For all the downplaying and gratitude Clanton has expressed in public interviews, it isn't difficult to tell that he's immensely confident in his talent. Like world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, Clanton has a strong relationship with his faith, which has only grown stronger in recent years. It feels a lot easier for Clanton to enjoy golf and excel knowing that winning tournaments doesn't define him. 'My faith is the number one priority. I used to let my happiness depend on golf, and I struggled in my friendships, relationships, everything. When spring of sophomore year came around to win those events was a great feeling, but I knew it wasn't my identity. It was just a cool thing for me to do,' Clanton says. As we've seen with Scheffler, that compartmentalization can be an edge. Clanton's teammates tease him about how his confidence spills out from time to time. It's something he's working on. So, less than five days away from his first start as a professional, here's a curveball: How does your mental game stack up against the best in the world? Clanton pauses. He laughs, nervously. 'This is the type of question that you can answer truthfully, and then you can come off very brash and very cocky. Or you can say the nice answer,' he says. 'That's definitely one of the strongest parts of my game. I can handle bigger moments, which I'm very glad about, because I've been put in those moments these last couple of months. Obviously I've failed in the past, and I will fail in the future, but it's how many times you don't fail that matters. 'It's very weird, just because you sometimes meet some people, or people on the internet, and they'll think you're cocky. But if you're not confident in yourself, then you will never make it in any career. I think that's truthful.' In golf, it never hurts to be feeling yourself a little. Clanton knows this. Sometimes that can come back to bite you, though. Clanton made one goal of his extremely public over the past 10 months: He wanted to win the national championship with Florida State. They didn't make it to the match play finals. Other times, though, that swagger — that unwavering inner fire — is exactly what you need. Making it comes with change. Big change. Clanton's NIL earnings helped Rhonda take her last flight after a 40-year career at Delta. She'll serve as her son's manager on the road going forward. David sold the majority of his company, so he can attend more tournaments than ever. Walters and his agency scooped Clanton up pre-college, and stuck with him through it all. Wiertel has never been a professional caddie, but he's retiring from his teaching job and moving his family from Illinois to Florida to loop for Clanton full time. The caddie's 11-year-old daughter, Lucy, is the reason Clanton and Wiertel linked up — she struck up a conversation with Clanton on the range at Pinehurst No. 2, before the North and South amateur. Clanton needed a caddie, offered the job to Wiertel, and the pair went on to win the tournament. Now he cannot imagine anyone else on his bag. Advertisement 'You cannot do it on your own. It's just impossible,' Clanton says. 'The amount of struggles you're going to go through. I can name 40 different times where I did not want to play golf again. You're going to go through times like that, and the people that you can lean on and be there with, that's the people that'll help you make it.' Making it also comes with expectations, ones that Clanton is still working on processing. 'I was so hard on myself after we lost (NCAAs) that I just couldn't get my head wrapped around it. Then I have everyone else texting me to play well next week, we're so excited for you to start your career. It's amazing, but it's also hard,' Clanton says. 'I just ended my career with FSU, which was the best three years of my life, and now I'm pursuing what I've always wanted to pursue.' To properly chase those PGA Tour dreams, Clanton's time is going to be more precious than ever. His playing schedule is madness, sponsors want a piece of him, and he knows he needs to prioritize his game over it all. Aside from playing in his first professional event this week in a featured group with Rory McIlroy and Åberg, Clanton's biggest concern right now is where he'll live. When his college apartment lease is up at the end of the summer, he has two choices among Florida pro golfer meccas: Jacksonville or Jupiter. Clanton likes to say he had a rookie year before his rookie year, and if that taught him anything, it's to keep things light. Mindlessly scroll on social media after a long day. Get the In-N-Out meal when he's craving it. Bring the Xbox on the road. Be a kid. As Clanton tees off at TPC Toronto, the uncertainty of pro golf lies ahead. He didn't qualify for the U.S. Open on Monday, and he's not sure about the Open Championship either. He's played in more than a dozen PGA Tour events but never with a check on the line. But Clanton figured out how to get his foot in the door, with the same tenacity honed on plastic greens and tested through failure. He made it. Now he's in a fight to stay. (Illustration: Dan Goldfarb / The Athletic; Photos: Mike Mulholland, Ben Jared / PGA Tour, Joe Scarnici / Getty Images; additional photos courtesy of the Clanton family)
BreakingNews.ie
a day ago
- Sport
- BreakingNews.ie
Rory McIlroy credits Canadian Open timing for US Open consistency
Rory McIlroy will use this week's RBC Canadian Open as a key warm-up for the upcoming US Open. The Northern Irishman, who won the Canadian tournament in 2019 and 2022, has been a consistent contender at the US Open in recent years, recording six consecutive top-10 finishes. Advertisement 'I love that it's the week leading into the US Open,' McIlroy told a press conference on Wednesday. 'I've had six top 10s in a row (at the US Open), so there's something to that.' McIlroy's grouping for the first two rounds includes 2023 European Ryder Cup teammate Ludvig Aberg and PGA Tour University graduate Luke Clanton. Welcome to @TPC_Toronto at Osprey Valley ⛳ • Par 70, 7,400 yards • First-time host of @RBCCanadianOpen • Public course, opens back up Tuesday after tourney! • Hosted @PGATOURAmericas ' Fortinet Cup Championship in 2024 • Winning score on @PGATOURAmericas was 5-under… — PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 4, 2025 He also praised the university programme for helping younger players make the professional leap. Advertisement 'I think this PGA Tour U programme is so good. If it was up to me, I'd give the college kids five or 10 spots on Tour instead of just one,' said McIlroy. 'I think to bring that new blood through each and every year I think is so important for the Tour, and to see Luke and some of his other peers take advantage of that opportunity and get their cards and come out here and play well, it's awesome to see.' Earlier this week, the Masters champion admitted he was 'p***ed off' that news of his driver failing technical standards made headlines before last month's US PGA Championship. Two days before the tournament was due to start the world number two had the club pulled from his bag after official testing showed it had crossed the threshold, the so-called 'trampoline effect' when the face of the club becomes more springy. Advertisement Failures are supposed to remain confidential, as no blame is attached to the player in question but the news broke on Friday evening. World number one Scottie Scheffler's driver also failed the test but that never became public until he volunteered the information at his winner's press conference after securing his third major. Rory McIlroy in action (Jane Barlow/PA) As a result McIlroy, uncharacteristically, declined to speak to the media over all four days and left Quail Hollow without uttering a word in public after finishing joint-47th. 'I was a little p***ed off because I knew that Scottie's driver had failed but my name was the one that was leaked. It was supposed to stay confidential,' said McIlroy. Advertisement 'I didn't want to get up there and say something that I regretted, either, because I'm trying to protect Scottie – I don't want to mention his name – I'm trying to protect TaylorMade. I'm trying to protect the USGA, PGA of America, myself. 'With Scottie's stuff, that's not my information to share. That process is supposed to be kept confidential and it wasn't for whatever reason. That's why I was pretty annoyed at that.'
The Independent
a day ago
- Sport
- The Independent
Rory McIlroy credits Canadian Open timing for US Open consistency
Rory McIlroy will use this week's RBC Canadian Open as a key warm-up for the upcoming US Open. The Northern Irishman, who won the Canadian tournament in 2019 and 2022, has been a consistent contender at the US Open in recent years, recording six consecutive top-10 finishes. 'I love that it's the week leading into the US Open,' McIlroy told a press conference on Wednesday. 'I've had six top 10s in a row (at the US Open), so there's something to that.' McIlroy's grouping for the first two rounds includes 2023 European Ryder Cup teammate Ludvig Aberg and PGA Tour University graduate Luke Clanton. He also praised the university programme for helping younger players make the professional leap. 'I think this PGA Tour U programme is so good. If it was up to me, I'd give the college kids five or 10 spots on Tour instead of just one,' said McIlroy. 'I think to bring that new blood through each and every year I think is so important for the Tour, and to see Luke and some of his other peers take advantage of that opportunity and get their cards and come out here and play well, it's awesome to see.' Earlier this week, the Masters champion admitted he was 'p***ed off' that news of his driver failing technical standards made headlines before last month's US PGA Championship. Two days before the tournament was due to start the world number two had the club pulled from his bag after official testing showed it had crossed the threshold, the so-called 'trampoline effect' when the face of the club becomes more springy. Failures are supposed to remain confidential, as no blame is attached to the player in question but the news broke on Friday evening. World number one Scottie Scheffler's driver also failed the test but that never became public until he volunteered the information at his winner's press conference after securing his third major. As a result McIlroy, uncharacteristically, declined to speak to the media over all four days and left Quail Hollow without uttering a word in public after finishing joint-47th. Get 4 months free with ExpressVPN Servers in 105 CountriesSuperior Speeds Works on all your devices Try for free ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. Get 4 months free with ExpressVPN Servers in 105 CountriesSuperior Speeds Works on all your devices Try for free ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. 'I was a little p***ed off because I knew that Scottie's driver had failed but my name was the one that was leaked. It was supposed to stay confidential,' said McIlroy. 'I didn't want to get up there and say something that I regretted, either, because I'm trying to protect Scottie – I don't want to mention his name – I'm trying to protect TaylorMade. I'm trying to protect the USGA, PGA of America, myself. 'With Scottie's stuff, that's not my information to share. That process is supposed to be kept confidential and it wasn't for whatever reason. That's why I was pretty annoyed at that.'
USA Today
2 days ago
- Business
- USA Today
Luke Clanton is ready for his PGA Tour pro debut at this week's RBC Canadian Open
Luke Clanton is ready for his PGA Tour pro debut at this week's RBC Canadian Open Luke Clanton spent the better part of two days crafting his introductory remarks for his Tuesday pre-tournament press conference ahead of his professional debut at the PGA Tour's RBC Canadian Open. Not leaving anything to chance, he scribbled it down on paper. 'Today my dream becomes a reality, a professional golfer on the PGA Tour,' he began before proceeding to acknowledge that he had stood on many shoulders and accepted many helping hands from coaches, mentors, his college teammates at Florida State University and the various junior circuits where he cut his teeth. The 21-year-old newly minted pro then spoke glowingly of his family and the sacrifices they made. Clanton grew up in Hialeah, Florida, outside of Miami. He's the youngest son of Rhonda, a Delta flight attendant for four decades who home-schooled him until ninth grade, and David, a landscaper who started his workday before sunrise so he could meet Luke at Country Club of Miami, a hardscrabble municipal course that served as his proving ground. 'What my dad did at an early, young age created me to be the person I am now,' Clanton said. 'My dad took that step of pushing me to my limits when I was a kid and making me train as hard as I can and hit golf balls in the dark with a flashlight. Those kinds of things are created to make a person mentally hard, mentally ready for these kind of big moments.' Clanton has already proven he can compete in the big leagues. He notched four Tour top-10 finishes in 2024, highlighted by runner-up finishes at the John Deere Classic and RSM Classic, becoming the first amateur since Jack Nicklaus in 1961 with three or more top-10 finishes on Tour in a year. Had amateurs been allowed to earn non-member FedEx Cup points, Clanton would've finished No. 90 in points last season. Clanton, who just completed his junior season at Florida State, secured his 20th point and PGA Tour membership following a made cut at the Cognizant Classic in March. Clanton capped off his time as a Seminole as the top-ranked player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking with seven individual collegiate titles, including four this season, and was named the recipient of the 2025 Ben Hogan Award, one of three player of the year awards in college golf. 'There are certain people that their golf ball makes a different sound when they hit than others, and his is definitely one of them,' said Justin Thomas after playing two rounds with Clanton at the WM Phoenix Open in February. 'He wasn't shy and wasn't scared of the moment. So I know he's going to come out here ready to go.' Clanton has already been well compensated for his bright future from the likes of Nike, which allowed his mother to officially retire this week. 'I told her, 'You're not going to have to work a day in your life.' She's like, 'No, I'll just work for you,' ' Clanton recalled. 'It's something that every kid chases for is to retire their mom and dad and help them out with everything. It's amazing.' Clanton likely could have banked even more money in the short term had he signed with LIV Golf. Asked in his press conference about his decision to join the PGA Tour, he didn't address any details about an offer from LIV, saying, 'I want to play the PGA Tour, pretty simple. I want to play against the best, I want to compete in majors, and that's it. Simple.' An earlier answer may have been more telling: 'It's not about the money. It's not about any of the fame. It's about competing with these guys on Tour. It's something I've chased for my whole entire life.' Clanton isn't the only recent college grad making his first start as a Tour member this week at the RBC Canadian Open, held for the first time at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley's North Course in Caledon, Ontario. Vanderbilt's Gordon Sargent also earned membership through PGA Tour University Accelerated, while North Carolina's David Ford finished as the No. 1 player in the 2025 PGA Tour University Ranking. All three players will have status on Tour through the 2026 season. For Clanton, playing as a professional, a childhood dream come true, still felt surreal as he packed his passport for his first trip north of the border. 'I got on the flight, and I was like, dang, this is my first PGA Tour start ever,' he said. 'It still hasn't really hit me.'
