Luke Clanton, 20, of the United States has won the Mark H. McCormack Medal as the leading male in the 2024 World Amateur Golf Ranking.
The winner receives exemptions into the 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club and the 153rd Open at Royal Portrush.
“Winning the McCormack Medal is an honour I will cherish forever,” Clanton said. “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.”
The American rose to the top of the men’s ranking after a round-of-64 victory at the U.S. Amateur at Hazeltine National Golf Club last week. Over the summer, Clanton became the first amateur to record consecutive top 10s on the PGA Tour since 1958. A week after finishing T10 in the 2024 Rocket Mortgage Classic, the Florida State University all-American finished runner-up in the John Deere Classic. He most recently recorded a solo fifth-place finish at the Wyndham Championship.
Clanton also made his U.S. Open debut at Pinehurst and became the first amateur in championship history to record consecutive rounds in the 60s with back-to-back 69s in the second and third rounds. He would finish T41.
During this past collegiate season at Florida State, Clanton finished fifth in the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship and fifth in the NCAA Stanford Regional, leading the Seminoles to the NCAA Championship, where they fell to Auburn in the championship final. Clanton shared runner-up honours with five other golfers in the NCAA Division I Championship at the Omni La Costa Resort's North Course, one stroke behind winner Hiroshi Tai of Georgia Tech. Clanton went 2-1 in match play, losing to Auburn's J.M. Butler in the championship match, 2 and 1.
In 2021, Clanton advanced to the semifinals of the U.S. Junior Amateur at The Country Club of North Carolina. He also qualified for match play in last year's U.S. Amateur.
This comes one week after England’s Lottie Woad, also of Florida State, received the women’s McCormack Medal. It is the first time in history that two individuals from the same school were awarded McCormack Medals in the same year.
The R&A and the USGA co-award the McCormack Medal annually. It is named after Mark H. McCormack, who founded sports marketing company IMG and was a great supporter of amateur golf.
The World Amateur Golf Ranking, which is supported by Rolex, was established in 2007 when the men’s ranking was launched. The men’s ranking encompasses more than 3,900 counting events, ranking 4,660 players from 118 countries. The women’s ranking was launched in 2011 and has a calendar of about 2,650 counting events with more than 3,000 ranked players from 90 countries.
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