THIRD ROUND RECAP

Luke Clanton shot an even-par 72 third round at the Procore Championship in Napa, Calif., and is 6-under and T32 heading into the final round on Sunday. 

He recorded three birdies and three bogeys in the third round, including a birdie to close his round on the par-5 No. 18.

Sean Keeling, an impressive Irish 17-year-old, is currently T66 and 10-over at the Irish Open. He shot rounds of 70-72 in the first two rounds to make the cut and play the weekend at Royal County Downs, but a third round 10-over 81 saw him fall to the bottom of the leaderboard. 

Patton Kizzire leads the Procore Championship and Rory McIlroy is leading the Irish Open.

ROUND TWO RECAP

Florida State junior Luke Clanton and 17-year-old Sean Keeling are the two amateurs playing the weekend professionally. 

Clanton shot 6-under to play the weekend at the Procore Championship, while Keeling shot 1-under to make the weekend at the Irish Open.

Ben James shot even par to miss the cut in Napa but did shoot an impressive 2-under 70 in the second round. Wenyi Ding also shot even par and missed the cut.

Clanton is ranked No. 1 in the Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com World Rankings, while James is ranked No. 2.

ROUND ONE RECAP

After the opening round, Florida State junior Luke Clanton is T37 and 2-under at the Procore Championship in Napa, Calif. The two other amateurs in the field, Wenyi Ding and Ben James shot rounds of 1-over 73 and 2-over 74.

PREVIEW

Imagine, for a moment, that Cooper Flagg, the No. 1 ranked high school basketball prospect in the country who signed with Duke, could suit up for the Boston Celtics on a February evening when the Charlotte Hornets were in town. 

It’s a preposterous scenario.

In golf, it’s a realistic scenario that is becoming more and more normal. This week, Luke Clanton, Ben James, and Wenyi Ding will all tee it up in the ProCore Championship in Napa, California. It’s the opening event of the 2024/25 PGA Tour season, just 10 days after the Tour Championship. Quite the off-season.

Three amateurs are in the field this week, and each of them is chasing more than just a fun week in wine country rubbing elbows with professionals. These amateurs are chasing some points which could help their future prospects.

Wenyi Ding recently left Arizona State to compete as an amateur in hopes of locking up the new DP World Tour’s Global Pathway exemption. The initiative gives a DP World Tour Card to the highest-ranked non-college player over the age of 20 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings. Ding is currently ranked fourth in the WAGR. It seems he has the spot locked up, as Luis Masaveu, who reached the U.S. Amateur semi-final, is his closest competitor at No. 17.  

University of Virginia junior Ben James will make his way west from Inverness in Ohio. James finished T3 as an individual and helped Virginia win the event.

Luke Clanton did not join his Florida State team at The Folds of Honor in Michigan this week. The junior made quite the splash on the PGA Tour this summer, making five cuts in six events, including a 10th-place finish in the Rocket Mortgage, which earned him a spot in the John Deer, where he finished runner-up. 

James and Clanton are both in a race to reach 20 points in the PGA Tour Accelerated program. Gordon Sargent has locked up his PGA Tour Card through this system, and Auburn’s Jackson Koivun is well on his way after a sensational freshman year. 

Currently, James has 13 points. A made cut in Napa would be worth another point. A great week and a top-10 finish would be another point. 

For Clanton, he has 14 points. Leaving Napa with 16 points would be a massive step.

This program is a double-edged sword because many short-term point opportunities this fall are available away from college golf, but there are some major points that can be won at the end of the season for collegiate performances. The Haskins, Hogan, and Nicklaus Awards are all worth 3 points. But skipping events, like Clanton is doing this week, can put a dent into his chances at those awards. Making three cuts on the PGA Tour this fall or spring would make that choice more palatable. 

Climbing the World Amateur Golf Ranking is also a way to earn points. Clanton has locked up all five possible points because he is the No. 1 player in those rankings. James can earn two more points, if he could jump from No. 3 to No. 1. 

College golf is at an interesting crossroads as it has created a great way for its players to make the leap to pro golf with a safety net; however, it’s also created a dynamic where some players aren’t competing with their teams in order to secure future stability. 

It will be interesting to see how it shakes out for Clanton, James, and Ding this week and beyond as they chase their future while balancing the present.