"It's pretty nuts" - Amateur golfer Luke Clanton's dream debut leaves him challenging the pros for a win at the 2024 Rocket Mortgage Classic
Amateur Luke Clanton fired a 7-under 65 in the third round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic to put himself in a great position ahead of the Sunday finale. At 14-under, he is now just three strokes behind the leader with eighteen holes to go.
On Saturday, June 29, Clanton entered the third round at T26 and was 7-under after 36 holes. On the third day at Detroit Golf Club, he fired a 65 with the help of six birdies and an eagle. The lone bogey came on the par-4 12th hole.
Speaking at the post-round interview on Saturday, Clanton reflected on the feeling of being in the fight for his first Tour title.
"To be able to be out here and even say I'm in contention to win a PGA TOUR event is pretty nuts. It's pretty cool, man," he said.
Clanton entered the Rocket Mortgage Classic field with a sponsor exemption and is now challenging some of the big names this week. Reflecting on his performance, he said he stayed calm from the start and believed in the process. He continued:
"I think that's kind of one thing I've been struggling with the last couple months is not getting ahead of my game and looking into the future, but today I think we did such a good job of not trying to force the birdies out there, but we just stayed really in our process today."
Besides Luke Clanton, Ben James is another amateur competing this weekend. He is tied for 38 at 8-under. Neal Shipley, who recently turned pro was tied for 19th after aggregating at 11-under. Notably, he had won low amateur at the Masters Tournament and PGA Championship.
When will Luke Clanton tee off at the Rocket Mortgage Classic on Sunday?
Luke Clanton is paired with Min Woo Lee for the final round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic. The duo will tee off on Sunday, Juen 30 at 1:30 pm ET.
At 14-under, Clanton is three strokes behind leaders Akshay Bhatia and Aaron Rai. Both fired 4-under 68 on the third day at Detroit Golf Club. Cam Davis and Cameron Young are tied for third at 16-under.
The final round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic will resume at 7:40 am ET with Ryan Fox, and Taylor Pendrith teeing off from the first hole. The winner this week will bag a $1,656,000 share from the $9,200,000 purse.