Luke Clanton’s wait is over, hotshot amateur earns PGA TOUR card in 'perfect' setting at PGA National

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – David Clanton isn’t sure what spurred him to do it, but as he stood outside the ropes on the sixth hole at PGA National and watched his son, Luke, prepare to hit a bunker shot, David took out his phone to record a video.

“Something compelled me,” David said.

Moments later, Luke holed the bunker shot for his fourth consecutive birdie. It was a sign.

The Clanton family has spent the last four months waiting for Luke’s time to come. He came close to earning his PGA TOUR card several times over the last nine months. He was runner-up twice when a win would’ve been enough. He missed a putt on the 18th hole at the WM Phoenix Open in February that would’ve put him on the right side of the cutline and earned him his card.

After each narrow miss, Clanton composed himself, reiterated it wasn’t his time and put trust in his faith. It would happen when he was ready, he kept telling himself.

He finally was on Friday.

Clanton shot 5-under 66 to comfortably make the cut at the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches and cross the 20-point PGA TOUR University Accelerated threshold needed to earn his TOUR card. He joins Vanderbilt’s Gordon Sargent as the only two players to secure a PGA TOUR card via PGA TOUR University Accelerated. Clanton will be eligible to take up TOUR membership after his college season this spring.

Clanton admitted the angst had been growing, hoping to close out his chase for point No. 20 so he could enjoy his junior season at Florida State and put his energy toward winning a national championship. The agony of the near misses was starting to catch up.

The celebratory scene on Friday was worth the wait.

See, the making of a top PGA TOUR talent like Clanton is built by a village – parents, siblings, friends, teammates, coaches and mentors. A few were on hand in Phoenix for Clanton’s first attempt at a TOUR card, but almost all were here Friday to watch the culmination of their collective dream realized, just over an hour from where Clanton grew up. And it came on a course Clanton played 30-40 times as a junior.

“It’s the closest we’ll get to home,” said Clanton’s mom, Rhonda.

Rhonda added that “hundreds” of people came to watch Luke through the first two rounds. She didn’t know most were coming until they showed up and tapped her on the shoulder. There were old friends, neighbors from their hometown of Hialeah, Florida, and former teammates of Clanton. The week has been a reunion as much as it’s been a golf tournament. As Clanton’s parents and sisters stood inside the ropes on the 18th green, waiting to congratulate Luke, an old friend of David’s shouted down from the stands and the two spent a few moments catching up. He came specifically to watch Luke get it done.

As Clanton reached the 18th green, he tried his best not to look in his family’s direction. He didn’t want to break down in tears before the job was done. Clanton stood over a birdie putt at the 18th and fist-pumped as he poured it in. Then came the release. He put his head in his hands and hugged his caddie. The waterworks came when he finally reached his family.

It was the perfect cap on what has been an imperfect journey to the PGA TOUR. Clanton had a loving upbringing with a strong family dynamic, but in a sport that is increasingly expensive as a high-level junior with frequent travel, Clanton was often at a disadvantage to his peers.

“We didn't have everything that everyone else had,” said Clanton.

Clanton grew up at the 36-hole, public-access Country Club of Miami, which sounds much fancier than it was. Most of his time playing was spent on the property’s short course, which was even more barebones with scruffy fairways and artificial greens that rolled like concrete when it wasn’t cared for. Luke and David would spend hours pitching, chipping and putting on the rock-hard surfaces, while some of the other top juniors refined their skills with highly paid coaches at perfectly maintained courses. But Country Club of Miami was “where we got to world No. 1,” David said, referencing Luke’s spot atop the World Amateur Golf Rankings. With Luke’s work ethic, they didn’t need the best facilities. When it got dark at the course, David would bring out floodlights and they would keep going.

“We put the grind in, big time,” David said.

David took a step back from the business he owned when Luke was young and his interest in golf was growing, but before any of the success was tangible. David wanted more time to coach him and travel with Luke. But there wasn’t ever a time that David felt Luke wouldn’t get here. From the moment David put clubs in Luke’s hands at age 3, he thought it was “going to be a serious thing. I never looked back,” David said. It was always the plan, well before they knew if Luke had the talent to get there. Though there were early signs. Luke entered his first U.S. Kids event at 6 years old and won it.

That didn’t mean Davis stopped working. Up until last week, he still worked three jobs as a landscaper, running a glass business and giving golf lessons. He sold his business last Saturday in anticipation of Luke’s pro career and expects to only teach lessons on occasion, spending most of his time with Luke on the road. Clanton’s mom Rhonda has spent nearly 40 years as a flight attendant, regularly working 15-hour shifts. She plans to retire on June 1 to follow her son.

“I’m ready to travel with him instead of Delta,” she said.

The sacrifice extended down to Luke’s sisters, Ray and Abby, who both sacrificed hobbies so their younger brother had more resources to pursue golf. They were at PGA National to watch Luke get his card and were the first two people Luke hugged when he walked off the 18th green.

“I mean, dad and mom, what they've done for me, it's kind of – can't even put it into words, Clanton said. “No one knows about it. No one really will ever know how much they did for me.”

Clanton plans to fully retire them both after the checks roll in once he turns pro. He’s getting cars for both mom and dad.

“She’s first,” David said, laughing as he pointed to Rhonda.

If Clanton’s amateur record on the PGA TOUR is anything like his pro record, he’ll make enough to supply cars to the hundreds that came and watched this week. Clanton has notched five top-15 finishes in just 11 PGA TOUR starts, including runners-up at the John Deere Classic and The RSM Classic. Clanton earned 14 PGA TOUR University Accelerated points via his TOUR achievements, with the other six points coming via his position in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. He collected 17 of the 20 points from June to November of 2024, marking the fastest accumulation of points in the program to date.

Clanton is in contention again at the Cognizant Classic, tied for 10th through 36 holes. He made seven birdies and importantly followed up each of his two bogeys with birdies.

As Clanton walked toward the scoring tent, he was already thinking beyond earning his newfound membership. “We’re going to win this damn event,” he said. David and Rhonda followed close behind, watching as Luke received his TOUR card and made a slew of media stops. David kept his phone rolling for all of it, a video totalling more than 15 minutes.

He wasn’t going to miss this moment.