Tony PaulThe Detroit News
Detroit — Forget Amateur Hour. It's been Amateur Year on the PGA Tour.
Five months after Nick Dunlap became the first amateur to win on the PGA Tour since Phil Mickelson more than 30 years ago, another amateur, Luke Clanton, is making a bid to match the feat at the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club.
Clanton, 20, out of Florida State, shot the round of the day Saturday, a 7-under 65, to get himself into contention heading into Sunday's final round. He'll need to go low to catch the leaders, but these young guns seem to have little fear or, really, no fear.
"Me and Nick go way back, so it's awesome to see him do that," Clanton said Saturday. "I've seen him a couple times already and me and him have been friends for a while. It's cool, man.
"I think amateurs now, we're so good. I think a lot of guys have great chances of winning out here, and to be in contention with one day to go is pretty sweet."
Only eight men have won on the PGA Tour as amateurs, and the last time two different amateurs won on the PGA Tour in the same season was 1945, when Cary Middlecoff, Fred Haas and Frank Stranahan all did it.
Dunlap won The American Express in January, and took advantage of the two-year PGA Tour exemption by leaving Alabama and turning pro shortly after. He was the first amateur to win out here since Mickelson in Arizona in 1991.
Dunlap is in this week's field and a stroke back of Clanton, at 14 under, after a 67. Neal Shipley, low amateur at the Masters and U.S. Open who turned pro last week, has been in the mix in Detroit, as well.
"The game keeps getting younger," said Rickie Fowler, 35, the defending champion at the Rocket who moved himself up the leaderboard to 11 under with a 67 in the third round. "I would say when I turned pro and my rookie year on Tour, there wasn't as many young guys as there are now. I feel like guys are just getting better and better earlier, and there's more of them that are capable and ready to play. It's good to see, and it's fun to say. I can say 'kids' now, been out here a while, so it's good to see kids come out and have success and have some fun with it."
Clanton is one of two amateurs to make the cut at the Rocket, along with Ben James, out of the University of Virginia. Two others missed the cut, including 15-year-old Miles Russell, who was even par.
Clanton and James are the first two amateurs ever to make the cut at the Rocket. There was one in the field each of the past two years, and both missed the cut.
Clanton's round featured a 4-under 32 on the front nine. He birdied the par-3 11th, then bogeyed the par-4 12th. He got that back and more on the par-5 14th. He had about 220 yards, with a left to right wind, and flushed the 5-iron to just a few feet. He made that for eagle.
"It was pretty sweet," Clanton said with a smile.
Said his athletic director at Florida State, Michael Alford: "No one else I would want … in a clutch moment."
He made birdie at the par-5 17th (he was 4 under on the four par 5s), and finished with a tidy par at the 18th, setting himself up for a late tee time Sunday.
It's been an up-and-down stretch for Clanton, at least emotionally. His team lost to Auburn in the NCAA golf championships. Clanton was the last man on the course, and lost his match.
This week may help him get over that, but he's not going to get over it.
"Still hurts, no doubt," he said. "It's hard to lose to those guys, especially how hard we trained and everything we did. It's hard, no matter what. I don't think I can get over it in two weeks or three weeks or even five months.
"I think it kind of just pushes us and the whole team together to get better and win a national championship."
More: The News' tee-to-green coverage of the Rocket Mortgage Classic, all right here
That, by the way, is music to Florida State's ears. A win this week and you'd think Clanton would have some thinking to do about whether to stay in school or join the PGA Tour, like Dunlap did.
Clanton said after Saturday's round, when asked about his future, that he plans to play four years at Florida State. So he won't cash a check this week, or anytime soon, it seems. At least, not for a tournament result. The emergence of Name, Image and Likeness has made it easier for golf standouts like Clanton to stay in school, he acknowledged.
Florida State has one of the best NIL setups for golf in the country, through the Battles End (the athletic department's collective) and Seminole Masters (a support group for golf).
"Yeah," Clanton said, when asked if NIL makes a difference. "Like, I play golf to play golf. I think being able to play golf with your buddies every single day, it's something you don't get very much. I've got 12 dudes on that team that I absolutely love, so it's awesome."
Clanton's 202 is tied for the third-lowest 54-hole score by an amateur in the last four seasons. Dunlap's 189 at The American Express was tops, followed by Michael Thorbjornsen's 199 at the Travelers Championship in 2022. Thorbjornsen also shot 202 at the 2023 John Deere Classic. Thorbjornsen is now a pro, and missed the cut this week.
Clanton tied for 41st at the U.S. Open earlier this month, and got a sponsor's exemption into the Rocket.
Under pressure
It's not easy, but head superintendent Sam Moynihan and his grounds crew at Detroit Golf Club sure make it look that way, year after year after year.
Heavy rain drenched the grounds of DGC on Saturday morning. Many holes were under water as of 8 a.m., and Moynihan and his staff got the course playable, and better, for tee times to start around 12:30 p.m.
"It's impressive, right?" Moynihan said Saturday night, as the sun was shining and the course had pretty much dried out. "We're an older club with older infrastructure and some drainage challenges.
"It never ceases to amaze me just the willpower and determination those guys have, just to get the job done.
"Under pressure, they deliver."
Added Moynihan: "I have a fantastic staff. They're used to taking it on the chin, but swinging back. I'm fortunate."
Moynihan's crew this week includes a staff of 35 from Detroit Golf Club, and then an additional 40 volunteers from other clubs locally, and even nationally and internationally.
DGC doesn't drain great, because it's so flat, and the infrastructure is so outdated, but the staff has gotten it ready for play in short order after several harsh storms over the six-year run of the Rocket. The infrastructure will be upgraded as part of a $16-million renovation problem, set to begin after the 2025 Rocket.
Might that include making the drainage-cover holes small enough so balls can't fall in, like Akshay Bhatia's did in a hilarious scene Friday?
"Yeah, right!" Moynihan said, adding that the drainage cover holes are about an eighth of an inch bigger than a golf ball. "Just incredible odds."
Chips & divots
➤ Will Zalatoris, ranked No. 42 in the world and one of the biggest names in the field this week, withdrew during his third round Saturday with a reported back injury. He was 3 over on his round Saturday when he WD'd on the ninth tee, after making birdie at No. 8. He got off to a 6-under 66 start Thursday, but struggled to a 71 Friday.
"Will experienced some discomfort after a swing today and, out of utmost precaution, made the tough decision to withdraw," said Allen Hobbs, Zalatoris' manager. "It’s important that he listens to his body and gets some rest. He hates to withdraw from the Rocket Mortgage Classic and looks forward to getting back out on the course soon."
➤ Many players on Saturday wore green ribbons on their caps, as a tribute to late PGA Tour golfer Grayson Murray, who died by suicide in late May at the age of 30. The ribbons also are meant to draw attention to mental-health issues. Murray, a two-time winner on the PGA Tour, had a history of depression.
➤ Next week's John Deere Classic in the Quad Cities got some big-name commitments that skipped out on Detroit, including Patrick Cantlay, Jason Day and Jordan Spieth.
tpaul@detroitnews.com
@tonypaul1984
