AJGA alumnus Luke Clanton took home the coveted Putterboy trophy at the 2022 North & South Men's Championship on July 2. Clanton, who was the No. 4 ranked junior at the start of the tournament, won against a stacked field that included Karl Vilips, Ben James and David Ford.
The North & South Men's Championship follows the format of 36-holes of stroke play followed by a 32-player match play format. Playing Pinehurst No. 2 on day one, Clanton finished with a 1-over-par 71. Needing a strong round to make the cut, Clanton fired three straight bogies in his opening holes on day two. He bounced back with four birdies to finish his front nine at 1-under-par 34. Clanton finished on Pinehurst No. 4 with one birdie on the back nine and with a 2-under-par 68 for the day. He safely made the cut with a two-day total of 1-under-par 139.
During the first match, No. 16 seed Luke played against No. 17 AJGA alumnus Sam Jean. The match was tied through the first two holes, with both players making par. On hole three, Clanton made his first birdie and kicked off a three-hole win to go three up through five holes. Jean only claimed one hole on the par-3 No. 9, but Clanton won two more holes on the back nine to win the match 4 & 3.
Luke Clanton's next opponent was Stanford's Karl Vilips. Vilips won the 2017 Polo Golf Junior Classic during his time with the AJGA. His impressive play didn't stop at junior golf, and he proved it again at the North & South by winning the stroke-play portion and becoming the No. 1 seed. Clanton and Vilips battled back and forth on the front nine, each winning two-holes to make the turn at all-squared. Clanton proceeded to win par-5 No. 10 and par-4 No. 12. From there, Vilips won par-3 No. 17 to bring the match to 1-up, still in favor of Clanton. With the advantage on hole 18, Luke calmly made par on par-4 No. 18 to win the match at 1-up.
Luke's next match was no easy defeat as well. He was up against University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill's David Ford. Ford is also a well-regarded AJGA alumnus. He won multiple AJGA tournaments including the 2020 AJGA Invitational at Sedgefield, the 2020 The Junior PLAYERS Championship and the 2020 Rolex Tournament of Champions. After going 2-up through through three holes, Clanton made bogey-par-bogey to lose the next three holes to Ford. The match made the turn with Ford being 2-up. After three-pars in a row, Clanton made a birdie on the par-4 No. 13 to go 1-down. Luke went on to win par-4 No. 18 to take the match to extra holes. The match was still tied after 20-holes, but Clanton struck gold on the 21st hole to advance in the tournament.
In the semi-finals, Clanton played against No. 21 seed Nick Lyerly of University of North Carolina, Greensboro. Lyerly was a 2022 Ben Hogan Award finalist and the 2022 Southern Conference Men's Golfer of the Year. Luke was dominant in this match, winning five-holes throughout the round to win 4 & 3.
In the final match, Luke Clanton played against current AJGA member Tommy Morrison. Morrison, a University of Texas at Austin commit, was the No. 10 seed and won matches against Peter Fountain, Caleb Surratt, Ben James and Maxwell Moldovan. The match was tied through the first four holes, with Clanton winning the first point on par-5 No. 5. Morrison responded with a point on the par-3 No. 9 to bring the match back to all-squared. Thomas took control of the match on hole 11, but it was short-lived after Clanton made a birdie on par-4 No. 13 to bring the match back to even. Both headed to hole 18 even, after playing exceptional golf all day. In the end, it was Clanton who made a par on the final hole to clinch the win at Pinehurst.
Clanton is headed to Florida State University in the fall of 2022. He is a two-time Rolex Junior All-American, and has made many top finishes with the AJGA. He won the 2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational Junior honoring Jim Bell and was apart of the victorious East Team in the 2021 Wyndham Cup.