The PGA Tour announced Wednesday that Luke Clanton is the 2024 Mark H. McCormack Medalist.
Two umbrella organizations, R&A and USGA, honor the best golfer in the World Amateur Golf Rankings after the US Amateur.
He gets a start in the US Open and the Open Championship in 2025, meaning Clanton will be at Oakmont and Royal Portrush.
“Winning the McCormack Medal is an honor I will cherish forever,” Clanton said in a USGA press release. “This award not only recognizes my efforts, but also the incredible support of my family. This will inspire me to continue to push boundaries and pursue my dreams with even greater determination. I am proud to join the ranks of those who have received this award.”
Clanton started his run back at this year’s U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2. He was beaten by Neal Shipley for the top amateur that week. He finished T-41 at Pinehurst and then posted two top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour at the Rocket Mortgage Classic with a T-10 and the John Deere Classic with a T-2.
The Florida Seminole also played all four days at the ISCO Championship and finished tied for 37th place this week. Clanton earned his third top-10 finish earlier this month at the Wyndham Championship, finishing alone in fifth place.
He immediately flew from Greensboro, NC, to Minnesota for the U.S. Amateur. Clanton advanced from stroke play to match play before losing in the round of 32 to Jackson Buchanan of Illinois.
The rising Florida State junior is on track to join last year’s McCormack Medalist Gordon Sargent as a future member of the PGA Tour.
Last fall, Sargent earned 20 PGA Tour University Accelerated points and had the opportunity to accept PGA Tour membership at the end of his junior year, but Sargent decided to stay for his senior year.
Clanton has 14 accelerated points out of the 20 he needs to automatically become a member. He must reach that number by the end of his junior year, which is May 2025.
The 20-year-old received five points as number 1 in the amateur world rankings and the other nine for his performances on the tour this summer.
His two starts at major championships next year will not count towards Accelerated points because they take place after the end of his junior year.
Clanton is one of the outstanding players to have won the Mark H. McCormack Medal, along with Patrick Cantlay (2011), Matt Fitzpatrick (2013), Jon Rahm (2015), Maverick McNealy (2016) and Sargent.
Savannah Leigh Richardson is the golf editor at SB Nations Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_Playthrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @golf_girl_sl.
