Luke Clanton shot a third-round 7-under 65 at the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club, Detroit, Mich., to move up 19 spots on the leaderboard and is currently T7 heading into the final round.

Clanton recorded six birdies, an eagle, and a bogey en route to the 65. He eagled No. 14 in one of the most impressively played holes of the week. Clanton drove it 327 yards into the fairway and, from 227 yards, put his second shot to three feet, making the eagle putt.

Ben James also made the cut and is T38 after a third-round 4-under 68. He jumped 22 spots up the leaderboard.

Clanton has now carded three rounds of under 70, shooting 69-68-65 heading into the final round.

Amateur Luke Clanton cards a third-round 65 and a 54-hole total of 14-under 202 at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.

Clanton, who recently completed his sophomore year at Florida State, is making his PGA TOUR debut.

— PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) June 29, 2024

ROUND TWO RECAP

Luke Clanton and Neal Shipley spent the final round of the U.S. Open battling it out for low amateur honors. Now, they are both in the top 30 of the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club in Detroit, Mich.

Clanton shot 7-under in the first two rounds to comfortably make the cut and is currently T26, while Shipley is T10 at 9-under and looking to push into contention on Saturday.

Ben James, a 2023 Walker Cupper, made the cut on the number at 4-under, while 2024 Haskins Award winner Jackson Koivun shot even par and missed the cut by four shots after making the cut in his PGA Tour debut at the Memorial Tournament earlier in the month.

15-year-old Miles Russell has an impressive PGA Tour debut, shooting rounds of 74-70 to shoot even par. 

ROUND ONE RECAP

After one round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club in Detroit, Mich., the four amateurs in the field all shot even-par or better. 

Luke Clanton, who recently made the cut at the U.S. Open and is the No. 1 ranked player in the Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com World Rankings, shot a first-round 3-under 69 and currently is T35.

Ben James shot a 2-under 70 and is T29, while Jackson Koivun shot an even-par 72 and is T100. 15-year-old sensation Miles Russell shot a 2-over 74 and is T128.

Michael Thorbjornsen and Neal Shipley, who both recently turned professional, are also in the field. Shipley is T9 after a first-round 5-under 67, and Thorbjornsen is T17 at 4-under.

Koivun and Russell have work to do to play the weekend since, according to DataGolf, there is a 21.1 percent chance the cut will be 5-under, a 42.7 percent chance the cut will be 4-under, and a 27.3 percent chance the cut will be 3-under.

PREVIEW

Luke Clanton, Ben James, Jackson Koivun, and Miles Russell all earned sponsor exemptions to the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club from June 27 to June 30. They will join Neal Shipley, who recently turned pro and also earned a sponsor exemption to the PGA Tour event.

Clanton recently made the cut at the U.S. Open and is the No. 1 ranked player in the Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com World Rankings and recently battled Shipley at the U.S. Open for low amateur honors. Shipley ended up winning the low amateur honors, becoming the first player since Viktor Hovland in 2019 to win low amateur honors at the Masters Tournament and the U.S. Open.

Ben James also played in the U.S. Open after finishing as the medalist in final qualifying. James and Clanton finished T2 at the NCAA individual championships, and James represented the United States in the 2023 Walker Cup.