21-yo Luke Clanton wins on the collegiate circuit ahead of big PGA Tour return

21-year-old Luke Clanton won a college tournament ahead of the PGA Tour return. The Amateur World No. 1 golfer triumphed at the Watersound Invitational just before his scheduled return to the Cognizant Classic.

Clanton had a one-over-par score in the first round of the college tournament and he recovered from it by shooting 66 and 67 to win the event against Jones Free and Jonathan Griz with a three-shot victory. Following the triumph, the PGA Tour official page shared a photo of the 21-year-old along with two videos. With the first photo, Clanton's thoughts on the National Championship were quoted, which read:

“My number one goal is to win the National Championship with the team.”

The entire post also carried a caption and it read:

“For the Noles. Luke Clanton won the individual title at the Watersound Invitational, but it was @fsumensgolf’s first team title of the season that meant the most to him”

This is Clanton’s fifth college win and the golfer played three PGA Tour events in 2025 as of now. He played at the WM Phoenix Open, which was his last appearance and he missed the cutline in the tournament after shooting 74 and 67 over the two rounds.

Clanton also played at the Sony Open, where he missed the cutline, and the Farmers Insurance Open, where he finished at T15 with a score of 1 under 139 and 1 under 287, respectively.

How did Luke Clanton perform in the 2024 season?

Luke Clanton started his 2024 PGA Tour season with the US Open at the Pinehurst No. 2 and he finished at T41 with a score of 8 over 288. He had four top 10 finishes on the PGA Tour season including a T10 at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, a T2 at the John Deere Classic, a T5 at the Wyndham Championship, and a T2 at the RSM Classic.

Here's a list of Luke Clanton’s 2024 performances:

2024 PGA TOUR Tournaments

• U.S. Open at the Pinehurst No. 2: T41- 76, 69, 69 and 74 over the four rounds, 288 (+8)
• Rocket Mortgage Classic at the Detroit Golf Club: T10- 69, 68, 65 and 72 in the four rounds, 274 (-14)
• John Deere Classic at the TPC Deere Run: T2- 63, 67, 67 and 63, 260 (-24)
• ISCO Championship at the Keene Trace Golf Club (Champions Course): T36- 70, 65, 69 and 71, 275 (-13)
• 3M Open at the TPC Twin Cities: Missed cut- 71 and 72 over the first and second round, 143 (+1)
• Wyndham Championship at the Sedgefield Country Club: T5- 68, 67, 62 and 69 over the four rounds, 266 (-14)
• Procore Championship at the Silverado Resort (North Course): T50- 70, 68, 72 and 75 over the four days, 285 (-3)
• The RSM Classic at the Sea Island Resort (Seaside Course): T2- 68, 65, 68 and 66 over the four rounds, 267 (-15)