Clutts Closes with 67 to Win Rice Planters Amateur by One

Final — Gavin Clutts closed with a 5-under 67 to win the Rice Planters Amateur at 11-under 205, edging New Mexico State's Jackson Funkhouser by one stroke Thursday at Snee Farm Country Club.

Funkhouser, who sat tied for sixth after an opening 69, surged into contention with a second-round 65 before posting 72 in the final round to finish alone in second at 10-under 206.

North Florida's Luke Balaskiewicz, Purdue's Micah Sheffer, and Charleston Municipal's Chandler Mulkey shared third at 8-under 208. Auburn's Alex Holder, Northern Colorado's Kaelen Dulany, Grand Valley State alum Manuel Cue Vargas, and Western Kentucky's William Easterlin all finished at 7-under 209.

Gary Dunne, the Seton Hall alum who opened with a 6-under 66 to lead after Tuesday's first round, posted rounds of 71-73 and slipped to a tie for 10th at 6-under 210.

Clutts Joins Elite Company

The victory adds Clutts to a Rice Planters roll of champions that includes Brooks Koepka, Stewart Cink, Tom Lehman, and Hal Sutton—collectively winners of 12 major championships and more than 160 PGA Tour titles.

Founded in 1973 by Dick Horne after attending Niagara Falls' Porter Cup, the Rice Planters has established itself as a premier proving ground for elite amateur talent, bringing one of competitive amateur golf's most distinguished lineages to the South Carolina Lowcountry each June.

Clutts' 11-under total fell between the scoring ranges set in recent years: Wofford's Charles Warren won at 15-under 201 in 2023, going wire-to-wire and holding off Auburn's Connor Doyal by a single stroke, while Hampden-Sydney's Nick Rubino prevailed at 9-under 207 in 2024, rallying from a double bogey on the 15th hole to birdie the last and edge Georgia State's Gareth Steyn by one.

The 54-hole stroke-play format demands sustained precision with little margin for error, particularly at Snee Farm, where course conditions and setup can produce widely varying winning scores from year to year.

A Shifting Leaderboard

Dunne's opening 66 had staked him to a one-shot lead over Australia's George Barclay (Joondalup Country Club) and Elon's Landon Durham, who both posted 67. Georgia State's Matt Calhoun sat alone in fourth at 4-under 68, followed by a five-way tie at 3-under 69 that included Funkhouser, Clutts, and Sheffer.

But the leaderboard shifted over the final 36 holes. Funkhouser's second-round 65 vaulted him into contention, while Clutts pieced together steady rounds of 69-67 to claim the title. Holder, who opened with 2-under 70, posted a final-round 67 to climb into the tie for sixth.

The victory continues the Rice Planters' tradition as one of the summer's most competitive amateur events, drawing top collegians and international competitors to South Carolina's coastal region for three days of championship golf.