Fearless youngsters Luke Clanton, Neal Shipley eye opportunity at John Deere Classic

Fresh, fearless and TOUR-ready talent has been a constant seemingly since a young Tiger Woods took the professional golf world by storm nearly three decades ago, and certainly since Jordan Spieth won the John Deere Classic as a teen without full-time PGA TOUR status in 2013.

Is that talent fresher, readier and even deeper in fearlessness today?

Perhaps.

Luke Clanton may have said the quiet part out loud on Tuesday.

“I think we have great players coming up,” said the rising Florida State junior and committed amateur who is coming off a T10 finish at last week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic. “I can name 20 right now that can win a PGA TOUR event. It's awesome to see.”

Outrageous to say, though?

Perhaps not.

After all, Nick Dunlap, a longtime junior golf and college opponent of Clanton’s, became the third amateur to win on TOUR since 1959, and the first since Phil Mickelson in 1991, when he claimed The American Express title this past spring.

Nothing young standouts like Clanton and freshly turned professional Neal Shipley have done since the college season concluded in late May has given reason to believe 33 years will pass before another fearless young amateur – or maybe 20 – breaks through.

Could that be Clanton making his third TOUR start on a sponsor exemption at this week’s John Deere Classic?

“I want to put four rounds of good golf together,” he said with quiet confidence. “If it comes out with a good number and a win, that would be awesome. I’m not going to try and jump too far ahead. Still got to hit each golf shot as good as I can and see what happens.”

Clanton, 20, showed mettle aplenty in Detroit, where he played his way into contention with a 7-under Saturday round of 65 and started Sunday within three shots of the lead. An even-par closing round earned a tie for 10th that would have put more than $200,000 in his bank account if he were a professional.

His sights, though, remain set on a different prize next spring – claiming the NCAA national championship his Seminoles narrowly missed in May, losing 3-2 to Auburn in the championship match.

“I want to win a national championship with the team,” said Clanton, who lost the anchor match, 2 and 1, after finishing in a tie for second, a shot short, in the individual competition. “That’s been my No. 1 goal in college and we came pretty close last year. All of us are very driven to do it this year.”

In the meantime, Clanton will soak up the experience inside the PGA TOUR ropes this week and via a sponsor exemption.

Practice rounds this summer with Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka, among others, have shown him the bar he and his fellow youngsters have to clear.

“It’s awesome being here and learning from them, staying in that zone and not worrying about the future outcome of everything,” he said.

Shipley lost the luxury of the latter when he made his professional PGA TOUR debut last week after a breakthrough season at Ohio State and stalwart finishes as low amateur at both the Masters and U.S. Open this year.

He more than held his own with a T20 finish in Detroit but finds himself pondering pathways to a full-time future on TOUR.

“Great opportunity here in the Quad Cities,” he said. “It’s another opportunity to finish high and work maybe toward Special Temporary Membership or whatever those categories are.”

Shipley was 12 years old when Spieth holed a bunker shot on the 72nd hole at Deere Run in 2013, then won the John Deere Classic in a playoff to earn the full TOUR status.

Now 23, the Pittsburgh native and avid Steelers fan Shipley isn’t thinking too far ahead of his process.

“I’ve been treating these starts I’m getting like majors in terms of preparation, learning the golf courses and all those things, making sure we don’t leave any stone unturned,” he said. “You know, if we miss a cut this week, then I know I have given it everything I can. That’s just kind of the goal for what’s going on this week and the next couple.”

Shipley has status on PGA TOUR Americas, where he finished T9 in his pro debut in Victoria, Canada, last month.

Like Clanton, he gained confidence from his college and amateur experiences, but, with the benefit of some professional experience, he isn’t quite ready to say the quiet part out loud,

“Yeah, I think we have guys that are ready to compete out here,” he said. “You know, maybe not 20 guys winning. Yeah, college golf is a great proving ground. (But) it’s kind of an adjustment out here. It’s different from college golf, that’s for sure.”