Luke Clanton earns U.S. Open, The Open starts with Mark H. McCormack Medal

Luke Clanton’s game has reached new heights this summer, and the rewards keep accruing.

The rising Florida State junior was awarded the 2024 Mark H. McCormack Medal on Wednesday, The R&A/USGA award that is traditionally given to the leading male in the 2024 World Amateur Golf Ranking following the U.S. Amateur. The award also qualifies Clanton for next year’s U.S. Open at Oakmont and The Open Championship at Royal Portrush, two more chances to prove his game on the biggest stages – which he has done admirably this summer.

“Winning the McCormack Medal is an honor I will cherish forever,” said Clanton in a USGA release. “This award represents not just my efforts, but also the incredible family support I have. This will inspire me to keep pushing boundaries and to pursue my dreams with even greater determination. I’m proud to join the ranks of those who have achieved this distinction.”

Vanderbilt’s Gordon Sargent, the 2023 McCormack Medal winner, reached 20 PGA TOUR University Accelerated points last fall and had the option to accept automatic PGA TOUR membership at the conclusion of his junior year in May; Sargent elected to return to school and can still accept TOUR membership in spring 2025. Clanton, 20, is on the fast track to join Sargent as a future TOUR member via PGA TOUR University Accelerated. He has accrued 14 points toward the necessary 20 (which he must reach by the end of his junior season; otherwise he would enter the PGA TOUR University Class of 2026 in the race for a TOUR card). He earned five by reaching No. 1 on the World Amateur Golf Ranking, and he has earned nine through a combination of TOUR performances this summer.

Clanton began his torrid run at the U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2, nearly clipping Neal Shipley for low amateur before finishing T41, then rattled off back-to-back, top-10 finishes at the Rocket Mortgage Classic (T10) and John Deere Classic (T2) before also making the cut at the ISCO Championship (T37).

With his fifth-place finish at the Wyndham Championship earlier this month, he assumed the No. 1 spot on the World Amateur Golf Ranking and joined Jack Nicklaus as the only amateurs since 1961 to notch three TOUR top-10 finishes in a season. After completing the Wyndham’s final round that Sunday, he flew to Minnesota for the U.S. Amateur’s first round of stroke-play qualifying on Monday. He advanced to match play and reached the Round of 32 before falling to University of Illinois standout Jackson Buchanan.

Players earn a PGA TOUR University Accelerated point for each major start, with another point for a made cut and another two points for a top-20 finish. For a non-major TOUR event, players receive a point for a made cut and another point for a top-10 finish. (The 2025 U.S. Open and The Open will occur after the conclusion of Clanton's junior season, hence they will not count toward his PGA TOUR University Accelerated total. His results in both summers, 2024 and 2025, would count toward his PGA TOUR University Class of 2026 ranking, if he doesn't reach 20 points in PGA TOUR University Accelerated, via the two-year ranking period.)

Clanton’s dazzling play this summer led some to ask if he would consider turning pro early, but he has remained steadfast in his desire to help lead Florida State to a national title; the Seminoles fell to Auburn in the 2024 NCAA Division I championship match, 3-2, with Clanton falling to Auburn’s J.M. Butler in his singles match.

Florida State men’s golf will begin its season at the Folds of Honor Collegiate on Sept. 9.

“I want to win a national championship, man,” Clanton said after the Wyndham’s final round. “It's pretty plain and simple. I keep saying it over and over, and I will say it because it's been pretty hard to lose the way we did. I've got that in the back of my mind for a while.”

Past winners of the Mark H. McCormack Medal include Patrick Cantlay (2011), Matt Fitpatrick (2013), Jon Rahm (2015), Maverick McNealy (2016) and Sargent.